Greek Tragedy
by Taken-Names-Are-Awful
Summary: Synopsis: Between the destruction of her school, the murder of her idiot headmaster, and her failed last stand against a psychopath, Pyrrha Nikos wasn't having a good day. Waking up back in her bed after being incinerated though, well, that's where things went from bad, to weird. (Time-Travel, Pyrrha-Centric) (Cross-Posted from SpaceBattles)
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: Yet another attempt at a fanfic, hopefully one that I'll actually stay on top of this time. It's a bit of an adventure, considering that I'm trying to stay in character, while also allowing for character growth. Consider this my rebuttal to all the Jaune time-travel fanfics that are out there.

I plan on writing at a fairly consistent clip per-day when time allows. It's my hope to build up a back log of writing in-between updates. I'll probably plan on updating every Sunday or so. If I get REALLY far ahead, I might even consider updating extra times. That's wishful thinking, perhaps, but I do want to get in the habit of writing.

If you want me to keep writing, as well as get better, do leave criticism and encouragement. Likes and reviews make my day, they really do. It also helps me get off my lazy ass and put pen to paper.

Cross-posted from SpaceBattles, under the same name there.

* * *

Synopsis: Between the destruction of her school, the murder of her idiot headmaster, and her failed last stand against a psychopath, Pyrrha Nikos wasn't having a good day. Waking up back in her bed after being incinerated though, well, that's where things went from bad, to weird.

* * *

Pyrrha Nikos never had problems sleeping. She ate right, exercised regularly, had the constitution of a seasoned warrior, and always made time for rest.

But this time, her return to the land of the living was marred by the sensation of an arrow in the throat. She gasped in a blind terror, clawing at her flesh, kicking away blankets - blankets? - and trying to clear an obstruction that was no longer there. Her heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to rip out of her chest, as the blind panic of self-preservation kicked in. Tears welled in her eyes, her stomach roiled in rebellion as body and mind and heart clashed in a tempest of discord. She coughed and sputtered in a desperate attempt to breath and rolled out of bed in a flailing of limbs.

The shock of the impact did draw attention away from her fit. She all but tore the wad of fabric that had gathered around her hand and felt around her neckline. Nothing but pristine, sweat-soaked flesh met her trembling fingers.

She was -alive-. A miraculous thing, considering she could remember being incinerated. It was pain like nothing else she had ever experienced, and the very memory made her tip over the edge. She sprang up from the floor in a mad scramble and stumbled, following a half-remembered path to her bathroom - she was in her own home? - and just barely to the toilet. Forcing the lid up, she sank to her knees, sickness spilling out past her lips as her nerves expressed their discontent.

It was a hell of a thing to recall, but some part of her relished even this awful sensation. She might be sick, but she was fighting. Her body might be trembling, but she cherished the beat of her heart. Her emotions might have been so tangled that she could barely even remember her own name, but it couldn't outweigh the fact that she was alive. The vomit wasn't exactly welcomed either way, but she would take what she could get.

Finally, finally, she was able to get control of herself. Fear gave way to a growing awareness that something wasn't right. She shouldn't be alive, much less in her own home. That arrow had hit something vital, and Cinder had been burning her into nothingness, -had- burned her into nothingness.

Even if, on the off chance, she had somehow survived both injuries, she should have been in a hospital bed, horrifically scarred with burns. Slowly, she rose once again and flicked the light on. She turned to face her mirror, blinking at the sight of herself. She looked like hell, hair in disarray, her eyes bloodshot and red, and, well, the less said about the rest of the mess, the better.

But she was still herself and looked the same as she ever did. If it weren't the fact that she was already emotionally wrung out, she would probably have started crying again. It also helped that Pyrrha was also a very goal-oriented person and was really starting to resent the taste of bile in her mouth. A flick of her hand turned the faucet on, and she began the task of trying to make herself feel human again, all while her mind tried to work things through.

Fact: She wasn't dead. Or at least...she didn't think she was. The afterlife was a possibility, but that didn't seem to fit. She was expecting a welcome party or something, maybe her grandparents. Not to wake up in her own bed.

Fact: She wasn't injured. No scarring, no burns, nothing at all to suggest that she had been skewered and roasted alive.

Fact: She was home, not simply at Beacon, but her -home-. The place where she had been raised, and where her par-

Oh...her parents.

Now this time, a few tears really did come to Pyrrha's eyes, but she wiped them away with her palm, taking a shuddering breath as she steadied herself against the counter top. She really didn't want to break down again, the emotional whiplash wasn't doing her already fragile state of mind any favors.

She looked back at the mirror and nodded to herself. Right. She wouldn't think about it yet. Instead, she would be...productive. Somehow.

Shower? Shower.

Nozzles were turned, clothes disposed of in the waiting hamper, the door was shut, and at last she embraced the burning warmth of the water that poured down on her. It was just on the edge of being too uncomfortable to stand under, but Pyrrha enjoyed it all the same. The bite of the water made her sigh with relief. The sensation was sheer bliss, a cleansing thing that reached deep and renewed not only her body, but her spirit.

It wasn't a miracle, of course. She was still just managing to hold herself together, but it was an important start. She stood there for a good long while, the steam building up until she could barely see anything past the haze. Finally, though, the water began to grow cold, and she reluctantly turned it off.

She went through the rest of her regular cleaning routine with deliberate slowness, savoring each well practiced motion of brushing and drying. When she was finally finished, she stood there, renewed and bone tired at the same time. She slowly cracked open the door, the rush of heat escaping, chilling her once more. She found an outfit in her dresser, a simple night shirt and shorts that would do for the evening. She carefully gathered up the blankets that had been tossed aside by her rude awakening and did her best to restore them to order.

With nothing left to do, fully clean and comfortable, she slid back underneath the covers, and closed her eyes, allowing slumber to take her once more, doing her best to ignore any doubt that she might not wake up in the morning. Even if this was some sort of pain-induced hallucination, she would take what she could get, and face what came with dignity.

* * *

She didn't even remember falling asleep that time, having been so exhausted that no dream found her. Considering what she would have probably dreamed about, she was grateful. When she woke up, she was refreshed, the sun peeking into her room through the window next to her bed, light piercing the misty haze that hung over the mountain that commanded the view. Like most towns in Mistral, hers was one that was built into the mountain range, farmers tilling the fertile soil at the base of the windward side, while the majority of the people were protected from the Grimm by simple geography.

The sight made her gaze at it with a deep sense of nostalgia before she shook herself out of her fugue. Her hand made its way to the nightstand, and she grasped her scroll, turning on the device. 9:24am... hmm. A bit later than she normally slept, but...

...what date was that?

She did a double take, and furiously rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, before looking again. The same date stared back at her.

She was approximately 8 months in the past, according to her scroll. Before she had even started Beacon. She stared at the device mutely, before going to the search engine embedded in the device, looking up 'news'.

Surely something...anything would confirm the fact that perhaps her scroll had been messed with, the date changed to play a prank on her, as absurd as that was. But as she looked through article after article, she began to realize that she was actually - somehow, against all sense or logic - in the past. She let the scroll fall limply from her fingertips, hitting her bed with a dull thump as she tried to wrestle with the implications.

All the evidence pointed to Pyrrha being in the past. It was as simple as that. There were far too many coincidences lining up for this to be anything other than time travel, as impossible as that was to believe. That meant that she has lost everything...her team, her friends, and...Jaune.

Yet, paradoxically, she had them all back as well. They were there, safe, ready to be remade into the same team that they were meant to be. Vale was safe, Beacon was safe...and those terrible mistakes she had made were undone.

And Cinder...

Her hand clenched into a fist, a wave of anger, no, of sheer, burning hate gripped her heart. Cinder had destroyed her school, threatened her friends, and murdered her. Pyrrha could see it now, how they had all been carefully manipulated, her most of all. It wouldn't have mattered in hindsight, but thanks to this opportunity, that hindsight was now foresight.

Pyrrha let out a shuddering breath, as she realized something crucial. Cinder had been afraid of her, afraid of what Pyrrha could do with a clear head. Everything that Cinder had done, had been to throw her off balance, make her emotional, make her make mistakes when she needed to be at her very best. Even then, it had been a far from sure thing. If Pyrrha had fought with a clear mind, had even one other reliable Huntsman at her back, would have had a fighting chance.

And during the fight, she had discovered - or, perhaps, rediscovered - something important. Raising a hand, she fed aura into her limbs, and reached out. The tell-tale blackish outline of her semblance engulfed it, and her scroll rose at her command into the air. Pyrrha had never viewed her semblance as anything other than a crutch. She strove to perform at her best without it, and only begrudgingly used it to finish an opponent, or keep a strike from connecting. But for her friends?

Well...the next time that Cinder reared her ugly head, she would be ready.

Pyrrha sighed, rolling her neck as she guided her scroll back to her nightstand. A glint of metal caught her eye in the corner of the room. There hung Miló and Akoúo̱, her twin companions. Resolve swelled in her chest, for how could it not? With her weapons, and a clear mind, she knew that she could take on the world. Her hand raised once more, and her treasured armaments sprang from their place on the wall, her hands finding purchase. Looking down at them both, a smile split across her face for the first time since awakening once more.

* * *

Training didn't come immediately, of course. The mundane tasks, like dressing, eating, all came first. Pyrrha was nothing if orderly, and all things had their place in her life. But if she had lingered a bit at the breakfast table with her parents, listening to their chatter...well...that they would simply chalk up to her going away soon, wouldn't they? Her training of course, they would explain away as her trying to make sure she was in the best shape possible to attend Beacon.

Her parents, bless them, they tried, but Helena and Alexander Nikos didn't understand the life of a Hunter. The two of them were civilians, working day jobs in their little town, with the prodigy daughter who pulled in more Lien with a single tournament victory than they both did in a year. She was a respectful daughter however and didn't let the fame go to her head. She was responsible, investing the money and for all intents and purposes, forgetting about it. Pyrrha didn't want for anything, but much like her Semblance, it embarrassed her. The fame, the money...she never competed for those reasons. She simply enjoyed testing her power, her wits against her opponents. Each time she had, she had ultimately found them wanting. Her four straight tournament wins during her pre-Beacon days had proven that. She had, incorrectly, assumed that no one in her age group could come close to her.

How wrong that was. Pyrrha might have been good, but she had treated it all like a sport, a game. And like she always did, she had tried to...what? Make things fairer, even if only subconsciously. But that wouldn't work here, knowing what she did.

So here she was in her back yard, limbs heavy with exhaustion, spear twirling in her hand as she imagined the battles she fought. Her blood rushed through her veins as she reenacted them, pushing herself past her limits and then some. She normally would have stopped some time ago, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. As long as her body responded to her demands for more, she would keep going, no matter how much it hurt.

She had quite more to give than she thought, even without her experience at Beacon. Her Aura...the same Aura that had failed to halt Cinder...she could feel it fraying once more after hours of non-stop exercise. She dragged up all her will power, all of it, and forced herself to continue working. On and on it went, her body faltering, only for her to shrug through it all.

It was only when her knees gave out and she hit the grass, that she considered that she was perhaps pushing herself just a bit too far. Wheezing as she lay there on the ground, Pyrrha found herself reflecting again on her poor life choices. It was something that maybe she should have done sooner, but what can you do? Live and learn, and all that...or perhaps in her case, die and learn was more appropriate.

And dying in the middle of an admittedly extreme workout would have been fairly silly, all things considered. With trembling limbs, she forced herself off the ground, a patch of pure sweat remaining to darken the grass, reminding her that she not only worked herself too hard, she hadn't even been taking care of herself during it. Heat stroke was a very real possibility. Berating herself silently, she managed to stumble back in to her house, groping for a glass on the counter top. When she finally had a full cup, she had to force herself not to down the whole thing at once. That would only give her cramps, and she had had enough of those when she...woke up.

...Died, even. She sank into the nearest chair near the dining table, setting her glass down as she forced herself to come to terms with what had happened. Yes, she...intellectually realized it, emotionally realized it. But she needed to get past it. She had been working on auto pilot all day, working herself into exhaustion to avoid thinking. Admittedly, the training itself was productive, but...judging from the fact that she could taste blood in her mouth, not exactly healthy. She had to think, and she wasn't looking forward to it.

Pyrrha had decisions to make, plans to line out, and she couldn't afford to put it off any longer. She blew out a sigh, closing her eyes as she sat there, hands coming up to rub her temples. "This is going to suck." She murmured.

* * *

The rest of the day passed in a flurry of pens, and paper so packed with ink that it was more blue than white. She kept it all in her room, of course. No need for her parents to catch a glimpse of any of this, less they send her off to an insane asylum. "Not that they'd even be wrong." Pyrrha mused, staring at the culmination of all her work. About ten pages of relatively detailed notes, theories, and strategies. This sort of detailed analysis, and reflection didn't come naturally to Pyrrha, and it drove her up a wall. Not that she was stupid, of course, far from it! She was the top of her class in practical skills, and in the top five of theoretical for a reason. But she had always been a much more kinetic thinker, learning by doing.

She had assumed that she wouldn't need to become a strategist. When she arrived at Beacon, she figured she was easily the top tactician of her class and could lead a team if - when - she was forced to do so. It had been a very pleasant surprise when Jaune had been chosen for that role, and she unloaded that burden without a second thought. When he wasn't second guessing himself, Jaune was actually...

Pyrrha paused for a moment to consider it, biting her lip. Jaune was actually rather smart. Very, very smart, when she remembered that unlike the rest of them, he had no formal training. Any strategies he developed were by the seat of his pants, and she knew he had high marks in the theoretical portion of the combat class. If he had actually attended an academy before coming to Beacon? She might have been the 'Invincible Girl', a prodigy, but Jaune could have probably planned circles around her.

...she knew there was a reason she was hopelessly in love with the boy.

It was an eye-opening thing, though. To see that even if she believed herself to be down to earth, she was still allowing the hype of the media to lead her astray. Pyrrha Nikos was -not- the smartest, the strongest, or the fastest Hunter-to-be, and that was a slap in the face that she really needed. But, if there was one thing she was good at, it was working hard. She trained constantly to keep herself in peak physical condition, to keep up with her school work.

Now, after her excessive workout, she knew she could do better. After her death, she knew she needed to do better. But that didn't mean simply trying to push her strengths, it meant shoring up her glaring weaknesses.

So. Planning.

Ten pages might have seemed impressive, but that was ignoring the dozens she had torn up and discarded for each completed one. And those ten pages essentially boiled down to the most basic of observations she made about her enemies, a very rough list of things she wanted to do with her team to prepare, and a few rules she had decided on following.

She would NOT tell anyone her...experiences. She doubted anyone would believe her, or worse, someone would, and put themselves into harm's way. Or, if she did successfully bring someone in, they might be tempted to tell Ozpin. She couldn't bring herself to trust the man, or his judgment. It had gotten her killed, and himself killed as well. A powerful warrior he may be, but he had kept all his secrets so close to the chest that by the time he let her in, it was far too late.

But, she would do what she could to improve things. The Breach, the Tournament...those were all events she could influence, for the better. She'd just have to be careful about it, and she would have to move quickly. If Ozpin also let her in on the secret of Amber again, she knew to take it immediately...and remind him to have someone posted to guard the damned door.

Sloppier than her fight with Cinder, really, and she had been nursing a broken heart at the time. What was his excuse?

It might have been uncharitable, considering the man sacrificed himself so she could get away, but so much pain could have been prevented if he had just told her why it was so important she take up the power of the Maiden in the first place. He had been vague to the point where she wasn't sure if he was doing it more out of scientific curiosity than anything...but she had the sneaking suspicion that it WAS partly that.

No, Ozpin was someone to work with, but not someone to trust or follow blindly.

But thankfully, she knew she would have reliable allies when she reached school…her friends. The rest of teams JNPR and RWBY, and all the rest of their class mates. With some subtle nudging, they would be well on the right path to dealing with the threats that came their way. Especially now that she knew RWBY's ongoing crusade against the White Fang the first time was not just 'their' adventure, but a serious threat to them all.

There were a lot of holes in her plan though. More questions than answers, but it was a start, damnit, and that was way more than she had last time. She could do this. She had to.

All things considered, the week or so she had to wait before boarding the airship to Beacon was bittersweet. In-between her workouts, which were far less extreme than the first, she spent every moment she could with her parents. They were surprised but took to it with their usual silent acceptance. It had long ago been established in their house that if Pyrrha had a reason for doing something, it was usually a fairly good one. They weren't ones to pry, or second guess her, which she was immensely thankful for. She didn't know if she would have the heart to lie to them if they pressed about her unusual behavior.

But they hadn't, so she had been able to get what she needed out of the time with them. Closure, a renewed sense of peace, and support that she craved more than she knew at the time. It let her move on, at least for now. Sometimes she woke up in the middle of the night, sweating. Other times she would be reminded of something that JNPR had done together, opened her mouth to tell her parents all about it, and then had to cut herself off before she gave it away. That realization hurt, knowing that she would have to start things all over again. Ren and Nora were such good friends to her, and Jaune…well. That would be something she would have to deal with in time, but as far as she was concerned, it would be a cold day in hell before she let anyone give him a hard time. Pyrrha thought a lot about the subject of Jaune when she couldn't sleep, staring at the ceiling as though it would provide some insight.

The truth was, she had treated him more like a pet than a partner. She hadn't meant to do it, had only tried to do what was best for him…but while she had helped him get better, she hadn't recognized that she should have let him make his own decisions. Maybe she should have let him face Cinder with her. Maybe she should have trained him harder. Maybe she should have intervened with Cardin before.

A lot of 'what ifs', and now she had the opportunity to act upon them. She wanted to get it right this time. She wanted Jaune to get stronger, she wanted him to become the leader she saw in him, and above all, she wanted him above all to be happy. She wanted those things so badly it brought tears to her eyes and made her sick with worry. It was a delicate balancing act, and she knew she needed help. The time for waiting was over.

That's why, even as the mantle of her responsibilities weighed her down, she took strength in it at the same time. As the airship lifted away from the earth and carried her to Beacon, she settled in, gripping Milo tightly as she shifted in her seat. She hadn't lied when she told Cinder she believed in Destiny. But now, Pyrrha knew that she would have to work towards it. And when she confronted that _bitch_ again, it would be Pyrrha who stood tall, and Cinder the one who ended up with cold steel lancing through her heart.


	2. Chapter 2

Something wasn't right. Pyrrha could feel it in her bones, the rhythm of combat ringing falsely in her very soul. It was like being underwater, deep at the bottom of the sea. Her normal grace was marred, her feet leaden, and Miló heavy in her hands. The scene was hazy, the sound of steel that was normally so enchanting echoing like a funeral bell in her ears.

All at once, the scene focused, as she cried out in utter agony as a lance of glass gutted her chest. A twisted shadow stood before her, wearing the face of her killer. Pyrrha tried to reach up, anything to defend herself, but she could not, her knees giving out, so she was forced to kneel. Like a lover's caress, Cinder's thumb brushed her forehead. "Did you think I was finished?" She mocked, her smile a twisted thing with far too many teeth.

Without warning, an inferno bloomed against her skin, and Pyrrha died all over again.

* * *

Pyrrha's eyes snapped open, a feverish sweat clinging to her skin as she looked around, trying to remember where exactly she was. She looked to the side and saw out a window, where the green landscape of Vale beckoned. Trying to calm down, she reminded herself that she was here, in the now, in…well, not comfort, but at least not pain. Not an easy task, but one that she eventually managed to do. Clearing her throat, she reached for a half-empty bottle of water, downing the lukewarm contents in one go.

It had been an uneventful early morning flight with some of the other hopefuls from Mistral, and a mix of civilians. She had slept the whole way the first time, too. Unlike last time though, she wasn't looking forward to going to Beacon the Institution. She desperately wanted to get back to Beacon the Community. She wanted her friends back that very second, by her side, laughing and chatting with each other about the silliest things imaginable.

Pyrrha wasn't very good at making friends, that she knew now more than ever. Sometimes she felt like a little girl dressing up in a warrior's outfit, despite how others might scoff at the idea of her having confidence issues. Pyrrha Nikos was perfect, how could anyone not want to be her friend, or just plain be her?

But she didn't have friends. She had fans, and their shallowness when she had first met some of them turned her enthusiasm to fight to ash. It was why she had withdrawn so much into her training, and her school work. She wanted nothing to do with other people, although she did her best to always be polite and pleasant. She felt like an actress playing the part of Pyrrha, the girl who wanted nothing more than to do her best. Looking back now, all she could remember about that time was a constant loneliness. Then came Beacon, and team JNPR, her comrades, her friends, her family. She had been happier than any other point in her life, and it was all thanks to them. They embraced Pyrrha for who she truly was, as cliché as it sounded.

Jaune most of all was the one person who looked up to her not simply as a symbol, but as a person. His obliviousness to her career as a fighter was the thing that had first drawn him to her, but his personality drew her in for good. He was a pure, selfless sort of soul that couldn't harm a fly unless someone threatened them. He would have laid down his life for them all if he had to, no matter the circumstances. It was why she had pushed him into that locker before that fateful fight. She wanted to know, above all else, that he would be safe even if the worst had happened. The instant she had launched it though, she had regretted it with each passing moment. Her heart hadn't simply broken, it had shattered into a thousand pieces.

She wasn't sure if it had been a selfish gesture on her part, but she was leaning towards 'yes'. Jaune might have been able to help her fend off Cinder long enough for help to arrive. They might have been able to wear her down, especially considering Jaune's insane aura reserves. That was the tactical part of her talking, but what truly bothered her about her decision was she had disregarded him completely. He was her team leader, and if he wanted to stand with her, she should have let him, pride and fear for his safety be damned. He might have not been thinking clearly about the decision to fight Cinder, but she hadn't been either.

It was funny how death put things into perspective. What ultimately mattered was doing the best you could, and more often than not, Pyrrha hadn't -done- anything. She had been content to let others take center stage, blissful in her ignorance of the growing threats around them, and her own newfound freedom to simply be normal. She had been all too willing to let come what may, but as she had learned all too well, life was short. She had to embrace it, make it hers, in the same way that she did fighting. She was scared of stepping into the spotlight, of being noticed once more. She wanted to make a splash, to fix things, to help forge her team into one that was better than before. Above all, she wanted to be happy, and there were several ways she could go about that. But the most immediate, practical, and obvious one was finding Jaune, making sure that they still ended up team mates, and making it clear that he was hers.

She breathed deeply at the sudden intensity of that emotion, shifting in her seat, her mouth suddenly dry. She had never been particularly possessive before, and she knew that he didn't even know her now. Could she bring herself to really care about that reality? When the time came, perhaps. But for now, she couldn't do it. Damn the consequences, and anyone who stood in her way, but she wouldn't waste time with Jaune. Each moment was precious, and she could hardly believe how she had been such a coward when it came to how she felt. His little crush on Weiss was…well, it was a thing. She had respectfully let it go, but now…she didn't think she would stand idly by while he pursued someone so obviously not interested in him. She couldn't even bring herself to be mad at Weiss, though. The girl had made her disinterest plainly obvious, even if it wasn't in the most respectful manner.

But she was so afraid, even as she tried to tell herself not to be afraid of her fear. That's what it ultimately came back down to, wasn't it? Fear, fear, fear, consuming her thoughts just like the fir- no, she would not go there, that way lay madness, and she was done thinking about it, couldn't approach what had happened, it was just all too much, and she just wanted it to STOP IT HURT SHE COULDN'T BREATHE-

"Ma'am? Ma'am?" A hand shook her shoulder gently, and she snapped her head around, Milo called to her hand from where it lay against the wall. A wide-eyed, terrified young flight attendant jumped back from her, trembling. "I-I…we're here. You were…" He trailed off, the silence deafening. Pyrrha panted like she had just run a marathon, and looked around, catching sight of all the people who were looking at her with undisguised curiosity and disbelief.

She plastered on a sheepish smile, and chuckled, slowly lowering Milo. "I'm sorry, you just startled me a bit. I didn't sleep very well." Understatement of the century, that, but it wasn't technically a lie. Somehow, they bought it hook, line, and sinker, the onlookers turning back to their things, some still whispering to each other about how "Pyrrha Nikos was about to skew that poor guy."

That wasn't a lie, either. She had been, and that loss of control scared her. But for now, she had to deal with this. Managing to keep the smile on her face, she stood up. "I'm normally not so…jumpy. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" It was uncharacteristic of her, but she was also so mortified at her behavior that she felt compelled to make the offer. The attendant slowly began to relax, a thoughtful expression coming across his face. "Well…my little sister is a pretty big fan of yours. Maybe an autograph?"

* * *

By the time they managed to track down a pen and some paper, the pilot of the airship had tracked them down and informed them that she, to put it politely, needed to stop holding them up from going back to the airfield. She made it up to him by giving him an autograph, too. That had been enough to mollify the grizzled old man, and she soon found herself alone on the airfield, even the luggage train gone, with her weapons her only companions.

She looked around and resisted the urge to sink to her knees as a wave of relief washed over her. Beacon was as it always had been, immaculately kept with students milling about and talking with one another in the distance. A few tears escaped her eyes, but she didn't care. It was so wonderful to see it all whole again.

"I didn't picture you as the weepy type, Nikos." Stiffening, Pyrrha turned around to see an unexpected face. A smirk framed by elegant sunglasses and designer fabrics. "Coco Adel. Second year." A dainty hand was extended in her direction, a quick jerk of her head gesturing to the rest of Beacon. "I don't blame you, it's a hell of a thing seeing the first time in person."

Pyrrha took her hand, feeling the deceptive strength packed into the other girl's frame. "Quite right." She said, silently grateful the other girl didn't think anything of her behavior. "What are you doing out here?" She asked, internally wincing at the awkward question. It was obvious that she was doing what everyone else was doing; Moving in.

To her surprise though, Coco's smirk widened. "We upper classmen move in a week early and help around campus. Fourth Years cull the grounds of Grimm, Third Years help oversee all the ammunition and tools, and we Second Years have the honor of making sure that all incoming supplies get to where they need to go. I have to admit, it was fun terrifying the workers." She twisted her hand, examining her nails theatrically. "After all, they're the only people left here besides freshies that don't know not to fuck with me." Clearly catching the conflicted expression on her face, Coco scoffed, clearly rolling her eyes behind her sunglasses. "I didn't hurt them or anything. I simply let them know who's in charge around here. I'm sure you'll do the same when you start your classes."

Pyrrha relaxed slightly, letting a tentative smile take shape. "Well, I honestly just look forward to meeting new people. We're all here to learn, after all." She demurred, not wanting to get into that subject. " At that, Coco tilted her head forward, letting her glasses slip a bit so she could look Pyrrha right in the eye. After a moment, she found whatever she was looking for, and pushed them back up with the tip of a finger. "Hmm. If you say so, Nikos. I think I may just even believe you." With an elegant twist, Coco was on her way, striding off towards one of the warehouses that dotted the cliff edge of Beacon.

Frowning slightly, Pyrrha shook her head, trying to put the weird encounter out of her mind. If Coco wanted to reserve judgment, well, that was her business. She already knew from her past life that CFVY was a good team, one that you were better off being friends with than not. Pyrrha was still unused to her reputation preceding her. It was something she did her best to ignore, but it was becoming harder and harder to ignore how other people reacted to her and assumed her responses.

She knew that Coco would see the truth eventually, and it was with that knowledge firmly in mind that she finally began to walk towards the campus proper, wondering what to do first. It was the dull 'boom' in the distance that made up her mind for her. She froze for a moment, wondering why the hell explosives were going off on campus on the first day...but then she remembered that old story Ruby and Weiss had told her about how they met...and if they just met, then that meant...

She tried very, very hard not to run, but only succeeded at a half-jog, half-skip. After all, she had a teammate to meet.

* * *

Ruby and Jaune weren't very hard to find, considering that Ruby was a living bundle of energy, and Jaune was fairly tall with a hair the color of spun gold. It also helped that Pyrrha was tracking them down like a woman possessed, but she wouldn't say she was obsessed, no, no...merely enthusiastic. And it was this enthusiasm that allowed her to catch the two in the middle of one of the courtyards, clearly looking lost.

Pyrrha tried her best not to lose her grip on her self-control. It wouldn't make a very good 'first' impression to start spontaneously singing. Either that or burst in to tears because she was just so, so thankful to be able to see them again. It was with great composure that she finally approached the pair. "Hello! Are you looking for the auditorium?" There, that was a nice, safe way to start off a conversation, there was no way this could go-

"OH MY GOSH, YOU'RE THE GIRL FROM PUMPKIN PETE'S CEREAL!"

Well…Pyrrha learned something that day; She didn't realize -Ruby- didn't know about her tournament career at first, either. The little crimson girl was before her in a flash of petals, stars practically dancing in her eyes as she bounced up and down on the spot. "Wow that's really cool, I mean, you're really cool, what was it like being on cereal, do you like cereal a lot, because I do, I really do, especially with milk, it's the best, but it's even better with cookies, the milk that is, my name is Ruby and this is Jaune by the way, and you're just SO COOL-"

It went on like that for a while, leaving Pyrrha standing there, trapped. She looked over to Jaune, a pleading expression on her face. Jaune, ever the gentleman, tentatively put a hand on Ruby's shoulder to get her to stay in place. "Eh, Ruby, maybe you should leave the nice cereal girl alone." He said sagely. Ruby stopped bouncing, doing a remarkable impression of a puppy who had just been kicked, before she looked back up at Pyrrha, squinting. "Hey…don't I know you from somewhere else, too?"

Oh no.

Sure enough, the dreaded look of recognition came back and before Pyrrha could cut her off, Ruby once again began bouncing around, breaking out of poor Jaune's grip, circling the pair. "PYRRHA NIKOS, ITS PYRRHA NIKOS, Jaune do you know how cool a spear that can turn into a gun and sword is? And a shield that can…do shield things, which is nice, but SNIPER RIFLE, I have a sniper rifle too, and it's a scythe, and Jaune has a sword and shield too, is like Pyrrha is the two of us combined, or two thirds of me and a third of you, and that's funny because she's about as tall as you and has hair like mine, but about as long as my sister's, so maybe she's part Yang too-"

Was Ruby ever this…enthusiastic in her past life? Yes, yes, she was. But not usually about Pyrrha, or near Pyrrha. She had thought that Weiss had been unjustifiably harsh to Ruby at times, but now she understood that Weiss had far more patience than she realized. That still didn't make Weiss perfectly okay in her eyes, but, she could see how Ruby could be a bit exhausting.

Ruby finally ran out of steam, Jaune having taken a few steps back to avoid the girl's frantic motions, clearly fearing getting hit in the face by a flailing limb or two. Coming to a stop in between the two, the shorter girl gulped in a big breath of air and turned to face Pyrrha once more. "Do you want to see my baby?" She said, with a smile that could light Vale for a year.

Resisting the urge to point out the other girl's poor choice of words, Pyrrha nodded, giving Ruby an indulgent expression in return. "I would be honored."

Click, and the ring of metal on metal as Crescent Rose unfurled, the blade cleaving a clean path through the air as she twirled it around.

That same path would also take it through Jaune's head.

Time slowed. Cold, black fear rushed through her veins, and she reacted without a second thought.

Her arm was engulfed in that black, wavy distortion that announced her semblance. Ruby's blade halted in mid-air, held there by sheer force of will, inches from Jaune's body. He fell back with a yelp, clearly unprepared for his sudden near-death experience.

Ruby looked up at her scythe and the way it stopped, tugging at the suspended weapon, a puzzled frown on her face "Hey, what's up with that? Is that your semblance? "She turned around to look around, seeing Jaune on the ground, and let go of Crescent Rose's handle, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "A-ah, sorry, forgot you were there Jaune. That wouldn't have been fun, huh?" Ruby took hold of the handle, her frown deepening. "Uhm…I think you can let go, now."

It took everything Pyrrha had to reply normally. "I'm sorry." Her aura receded, and gravity resumed its normal course, allowing Ruby to fold the weapon back up. Smiling, blissfully aware of the fact that she had nearly decapitated Jaune, she asked "Where's the auditorium, anyway?" Pyrrha mutely pointed in the direction it was in, causing Ruby to fist pump. "Alright, there's one mystery solved. I'll see you there you two!" She was off in a burst of petals.

Pyrrha stood there for a while, trying to relax the fist she had made after halting Crescent Rose. She was angry, and afraid, for the umpteenth time that day, because apparently the universe couldn't stop reminding her of all the things that could go wrong. Already, because of her actions, Jaune had nearly died; at Ruby's hands, of all things! Why was he so stupidly, wonderfully brave enough to attend Beacon without an Aura in the first place?

"Ahem…ah…thanks for…that." Her knight said from his place on the ground, a self-conscious look on his face.

"You don't have aura." She blurted out, resisting the urge to smack herself on the face, as Jaune look flabbergasted.

Smooth, Pyrrha, smooth. Why don't you tell him that you're head over heels in love with him, too?

"I, uhm, Aura? Of course I have that, who doesn't?" Jaune said, springing to his feet, attempting to put airs for her benefit, clearly attempting to emulate the traditional proud, stoic warrior. She wasn't necessarily in the mood for that sort of thing, but…it was so classic Jaune, that she couldn't help but find some humor in it.

"It…it's easy to tell, Jaune." She lied, feeling awful about the deception, but knowing that she didn't have much of a choice. "Its…it's very important for being a hunter. If you don't have it, you can't be one."

His eyes dimmed, his expression twisting into dejection, clearly afraid that she had discovered his secrets. She already knew them all, of course, so he would have had reason to fear…but it wasn't like she was going to rat them out. "Come with me. I'll help you." She said with a hurried tone, not bothering to wait before she took his arm, all but dragging him towards a secluded spot of the grounds. "H-hey, where are we going?!" He said, clearly afraid still, even as Pyrrha finally dragged them to a halt next to a particularly large tree. Short of going indoors, it would be the best place to talk in private.

"I don't know how you don't have an aura." Lie. "But I can help you get one." She told him, taking his hand in hers, trying to ignore the way it made her heart race. She wet her suddenly dry lips, going on to explain. "Aura is…a manifestation of the spirit. It takes our inner strength, and projects it outward, protecting us and strengthening us. With my aura, I can unlock yours."

Hope leaked back into his eyes, even as he maintained a skeptical expression. "But…why?"

Somehow, Pyrrha didn't think the explanation 'Because the thought of you getting hurt terrifies me more than dying again' would be well received. So, instead, she let some of her inner affections out, and gave him a wide smile. "What else are friends for?"

He gave her a small smile back, and the sight made her melt. "So…how does this work, then?" He asked slowly, looking down to where her hand still held on to his.

She snatched it back, remembering that was far too familiar for the…now-just-friends they had become. "Well, I'll need to use my aura to ignite yours. A connection will be established, and with just the right state of mind, you'll have one of your own." She said idly, reaching out to take his shoulder as the ritual demanded, and closed her eyes. The standard words – the ones she had said to him the first time she had done this – died on her tongue before she could even speak them. Clearly her throat, she tried again, blindly grasping for something to say. As she did, the words tumbled from her mouth. "So long as there remains good in your spirit, you shall not falter in your duty. Your trials will be myriad and daunting, but with an iron will, you shall overcome. Death cannot touch you and Hope cannot leave you, for I lift you into the tide of Destiny, and release the limitless potential of your soul."

Did Jaune have that much aura the first time around? It felt like she was being rung dry for every last drop of energy she had, and then some. She feared she had done something wrong with the ritual, before the flow finally ceased, a burst of white energy crackling over Jaune's form.

"Pyrrha?"

It was a simple query, nothing more than that. But the way Jaune said it made her heart leap in her chest. It sounded so familiar, so much like the growing, finding-his-feet Jaune that she had left behind, that for a moment she hoped. Had she done something? Is that why it had drained so much energy from her? Had he come back-

"I feel…good." He continued simply, a dazed expression on his face as he looked at himself, practically radiating energy from every pore, clearly drunk off the sensation of having so much new energy at once.

Oh.

She couldn't stop the few frustrated, bitter drops that ran down her cheeks, and he looked at her, startled out of his thoughts by it. "Why are you crying?" He asked, afraid that he had done something wrong. Always the considerate gentleman.

It made her grin past her tears, and she shook her head. "I'm sorry." The familiar phrase leapt from her tongue, as she reconciled herself with reality. "I'm just so happy for you, Jaune." She wiped her face as he gave her a half-confused grin of his own. Clearing her throat, she looked over to the auditorium, where more students were pouring into every moment. "Come on. Lets' get in there, before we're too late. I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to talk later."

As they walked towards their future, all Pyrrha could think about was how she longed to hear him say her name that way again.

AN: I'm pretty sure I gave myself emotional whiplash from this chapter. Poor Pyrrha.

On a narrative note, fairly sure this chapter might cause some controversy and head scratching, but what can you do? Any valid criticism will be welcome. Just to head it off now, I think that Ruby was fairly in-character, by the way. To her, that scythe thing was an innocent 'whoops' moment, not the gut-wrenching thing it was for Jaune or Pyrrha. But I do like to hear your thoughts on the matter regardless!

And yeah, I know I said I'd update once weekly, but I was desperately in the mood to get this out, especially considering I have other papers to do for school this week, and to be honest, I enjoy the interaction with others each new chapter brings. Also, having more material for you folks to review and consider will allow me to percolate new ideas for next chapter, as well as make any edits that might need to happen in time for next update.

The story is still fairly fluid, by the way, with a lot of 'seat of the pants' ideas taking hold in certain places. So, if some sections seem a bit rough, that's probably why. But I do try my absolute best to make characters and lore consistent with each other.


	3. Chapter 3

During the last entrance speech, Pyrrha had paid a respectful amount of attention to it. After all, this was one of the moment important moments of her life; Surely Headmaster Ozpin would have some important wisdom to impart them with? Well, he…did, she supposed. But having heard it before, not to mention being bone-deep tired, meant she had to struggle to stay awake in her seat. Jaune by her side was paying rapt attention, drinking in the speech with an obvious look of awe on his face.

That was fine with her, though. It was enough to simply be beside him, existing in the moment. Not to mention she didn't really have the energy to capitalize on a conversation with him. But it wasn't all bad, though; She felt relatively peaceful, and after the day's earlier events, she needed a bit of stability. She just needed to relax, lay back, and….

"Pst…Pyrrha!" Another hand on her shoulder shaking her out of her fugue, but this time she managed to avoid an overly violent reaction. A very intelligent "Bwuh?" was her reply, blinking her eyes owlishly as she took in her surroundings. Most of the other students had already left the auditorium, the two of them being some of the last ones to remain sitting down. When had Ozpin wrapped his speech up? "You were…kind of sleeping there, for a bit." Jaune said, clearly trying his hardest to not make the situation awkward. It was so adorable it made her inner romantic squeal.

"Sorry." She said, biting back a yawn as she stretched, getting up off the plastic chair, Jaune mirroring her movement. "I didn't get a lot of sleep." That, and Jaune had sucked most of her aura up like a leech. Considering how strong she was, how much aura did he actually have? If he ever discovered his semblance, he would be a monster. It was always weird to think, as much as she had been pulling for Jaune in her past life, how much she underestimated him. He had hidden depths, ones that even now she was discovering.

Thankfully, Jaune didn't think much of her exhaustion, instead nodding sympathetically. "I know what you mean. I was so nervous, and the airship ride, ah…wasn't kind. You might hear names." He mumbled. 'Names?' She thought. What kind of na- right, 'Vomit Boy'. At least RWBY hadn't ever really picked on Jaune that much. Cardin, though…that would be a problem. She willed herself not to reach for Miló, if only because she didn't want Jaune to think she was crazy. Instead, she shook her head, grinning a bit. "Well, I never was one to believe everything I hear." Lieeeee, lie lie lie. It took a spear to the chest for her to recognize that maybe trusting without comprehension was a bad idea. But she was working on her trust issues! Along with all her other issues, too. Really. She was.

…But it was kind of a work in progress.

Forcefully wrenching herself from the beginning of yet another mental tangent, she swallowed and began to say something else, only to cut herself off when perhaps one of the most embarrassing things in either of her lives happened to her. Her stomach growled. Loudly. And she didn't mean a simple pang of hunger. It was more akin to an Ursa's howl after it hadn't been fed for weeks.

Silence. And then her face turned as red as her hair.

More silence. Ye gods, she could practically hear that…that _sound_ echo off the walls. She wanted the ground to swallow her up, she wanted Cinder to break through the nearest wall and start hurling fire balls, anything, just kill her again now. But dear, sweet, blessed Jaune managed to finally find some words, and coughed. "I guess I could go for something to eat. You?" Anyone else would have probably rolled their eyes at his 'brilliant' observation, but Pyrrha was just grateful that she didn't have to say anything further about the subject, other than a "Yes, that sounds good." All while doing her best impression of a burn dust round.

* * *

Thanks to the fact that hopefuls were coming from across the world to attend Beacon, there was an all-day buffet to accommodate the applicants. The cafeteria was busy, tables festooned with all manner of foods from every corner of Remnant. As she and Jaune made their way to one of the less crowded tables, she took note of all the familiar faces, mixed in with those who never passed. Amusingly, Pyrrha caught sight of Blake Belladonna in one corner, chowing down on a swordfish. She shook her head, idly wondering how no one had figured out that she was a Faunus sooner. It wasn't like she exactly hid her obsessive love for all things seafood.

Sliding onto a seat next to Jaune, a slight twist of her head let her catch sight of the rest of their soon-to-be team: Ren and Nora, sitting together as they always did a few tables down. Nora's face was the picture of concentration as she attempted to assemble a replica of Beacon out of rolls, all while Ren tucked into a mixed salad with the refinement of a noble.

Tearing her sight away from the two, she decided to stop ignoring her ravenous hunger, and began to eat. The two of them ate in silence for a while, Pyrrha devouring practically everything she could get her hands on, and then some. Finally, satisfied, she tilted her head to look at Jaune, who was staring at her with an incredulous expression. "I…how?" He asked, looking at the various remnants of food that hadn't stood a chance against her. Refusing to succumb to her initial reaction to shy away, she gathered her strength and managed to answer him. "Well, aura is like any other part of the human body. It needs fuel to flourish and grow." She said lightly, easily falling back into her old 'mentor' mode.

A look of comprehension came across his face. "So, when you helped me, that used up all your aura?" He asked, putting two and two together. "Most of it, anyway." She confirmed, glancing away for a moment to eye a particularly delicious looking cupcake on a nearby tray that was screaming 'eat me, Pyrrha, eat me!'. Slowly, deliberately, she plucked it off the tray and took a bite out of it. "I also didn't have anything on the flight here." She said, Jaune chuckling at her antics. She laughed alongside him, doing her best to ignore how his laugh made her feel like someone had set off Beacon's munition stores inside her stomach.

"You know a lot about this Hunter stuff, huh?" He mused after the two of them settled down, the lunch rush having died down. Nora and Ren had left in the middle of their meal, and while Pyrrha had considered trying to strike up a conversation with them…well. It didn't feel right to go out of her way to reintroduce herself to everyone on the first day. Jaune was an exception, if only because she didn't think she'd be able to go another day without seeing him if she could. It was such a relief to be able to talk with him, simply be with him. People might have belittled his skill, sneered at his naïve ways, but Pyrrha knew there was more to him than his shortcomings. He tried so very, very hard, even when life tried to beat him down again and again.

Treating Jaune better than before was a top priority, as well as teaching him with a bit more…force than she had before. If she stood back and let history take its prior course, Jaune would become bogged down in self-doubt and fear, simply because his transcripts were forged. If she got him to admit to that, the sooner the better, and got him past that mental block, his growth would kick into overdrive. In a way, she and Jaune were opposites. Despite his quirks, he was much better at making friends than she was. After all, you had to have some kind of confidence to get turned down by Weiss Schnee every week and go back for ten more rounds. In contrast, he had no faith in his ability to fight. Meanwhile…well. She was _Pyrrha Nikos_ , and that was probably the best way to sum up her problems right now.

Remembering she had to actually answer his question instead of staring off into space like a buffoon, she shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose I do. But I'm happy to answer any questions you have, Jaune. There's a piece of advice I once heard." Ensuring she had his attention, she tilted her head a bit, trying to recall the exact words. "There's no shame in admitting you don't know something. But there is shame in not trying to learn."

She had probably butchered the quote something, but from the thoughtful look on his face, he got the gist of it. "Anything at all, huh?" He said, his tone one that sprang from revelation, as though all his prayers had just been answered. Pyrrha resisted the urge to answer with something sappy, or forward. She had, after all, 'just met' Jaune, and she wasn't the kind of person who particularly enjoyed having their emotions dictate their actions. The depths of her feelings for Jaune were honestly scary. She had been a hairsbreadth away from snapping Crescent Rose in half when Ruby had almost decapitated Jaune. If he had actually died? Well…she just might have snapped. That was why she had promptly dragged his ass over behind a tree, so she could give him aura. It was a miracle he had survived initiation the first time.

"Yes, Jaune, anything." She said with a serene expression that did little to betray her affections, or her worries.

And so, they started talking.

* * *

Hours came and passed between them, their discussions born out of his curiosity, and carried by her knowledge. Teaching Jaune how to be a hunter had been one of her favorite parts of their relationship. To have the chance all over again, and this time do it better, was something that she was immensely thankful for. He took the opportunity she offered him like a dying man might a life preserver. Really, it was no small wonder that no one had caught him the first time. In hindsight, his lack of even basic Hunter knowledge was worrying.

She had tentatively asked him what made him want to study at Beacon. His answer had surprised her, since it was one that he hadn't ever told her before. "My father…he didn't want me to become a Hunter. Tried to keep me away from it all." He said with bitter pangs of heartache lacing each and every word. "But…I just felt like I had to try. He was a Hunter, always out, risking his life on missions. I didn't want to become a baker, or a blacksmith, or anything he thought was safe. I wanted to be a hero. I wanted him to be proud of me."  
That answer made her fall in love with him all over again, and once again, she had to reign herself in from grabbing him and kissing him breathless. She had instead very carefully replied "Well Jaune, half the battle is knowing what you want. Now all you have to do is work hard to obtain it."

Their conversations had continued for a while later, with Jaune learning quite a bit about the life of a hunter. His reactions to certain pieces of trivia – especially that he would be catapulted into the forest during initiation – were priceless. Not that Pyrrha would leave anything to chance with regard to making sure they were partners, of course. Unless Jaune figured out a landing strategy, she would probably end up having to pin him to the tree. Again.

It was rather striking; how little it had taken to start setting Jaune on the right path this time. Granted, she had plenty of trial and error opportunities before now, but still. All Jaune had needed when he attended Beacon were a few things: Some aura, a friendly ear, and a crash course in the bare bones basics. The rest of his training, such as actually fighting, could be done as he went along. As long as he had the confidence to start, he would go far. She would make sure of it with every fiber of her being.

…At least, that's what she told herself. She even believed it, mostly. It was just there was also a small part of her, the realistic, calculating warrior, that knew Jaune was not without flaws. Despite how much she craved his company, she knew he had a tendency to get in over his head. By all rights, he should have never gotten into Beacon, let alone done as well as he did the first time around. He hovered around the middle-bottom of their class in combat standing, but he wasn't even the worst. He was also surprisingly strong in the survival portions of the class – which he had chalked up to the numerous camping trips his family had taken – and he was solid at theory. It was just combat was such an integral component of their training, that people glossed over what he _was_ good at.

But even though he wasn't perfect, wasn't that what teammates were for? To shore up each other's weaknesses, and play to their strengths? A rhetorical question since that was what she had always tried to do. The problem was, she had been trying to shore up strengths, and she had inadvertently played to weaknesses.

She planned on doing her best to force her team to grow, and fast. There was no time to do anything else, but she would not take chances with trying to work them in to the ground, either. That would ultimately be useful to no one. But still, they had wasted so much time on being children, that when the time came to be warriors, they had all been unprepared to do so. But it would be a difficult balancing act, to be sure. She didn't want to turn JNPR into a weapon, but a family. That sort of thing wouldn't happen overnight.

But she could buy them _time_. The dust robberies, The Breach, the Tournament, and Cinder herself…those were all things that she knew about, and more importantly, she knew they were connected. All that remained was figuring out how to strike at those targets to maximize the damage done to Cinder's plan.

She had thought about simply telling someone about Cinder; who she was, what she was planning. But no one would believe her, other than perhaps Ozpin. And what would Ozpin even do with that information? Maybe he would catch Cinder, but she didn't trust the man. And she knew firsthand the kinds of deception Cinder's team could pull off, up to and including having two different Illusionists in her employ. Running Cinder to ground was the wrong play to make in a game like this, because if her past life had served her well, then this…whatever it was, it had been in the works for years. Cinder wouldn't be so easily dealt with, even if she still attended Beacon for the tournament.

Instead of going after Cinder, Pyrrha wanted to go after those around her. The White Fang, Torchwick…taking out those pieces of support would severely hinder Cinder's plans, or so she hoped. If nothing else, it would buy time for her team to grow stronger. And if…if, she had done sufficient damage, if her team was ready, then maybe she could let something slip to Ozpin. She knew that she wasn't being entirely fair to her headmaster, but he hadn't been fair to her, even when her life was on the line. She had to play for keeps, because something told her that, despite the miraculous circumstances of her traveling back to the past, she wouldn't get another shot at this.

She really didn't like all the cloak and dagger, but what other choice did she have?

Grimacing, she put the thoughts out of her mind for the time being. It was late, she was tired, and she had more immediate problems at hand.

The gym showers had been a welcome place to relax, at least, even if she had used all that time for worrying herself into yet another stupor. The first years had been put up in the auditorium and gym respectively for their first night on campus, simply because it was easier to have all the hopefuls confined to a few areas. Many of them wouldn't be staying longer than tomorrow, anyway. Beacon had an approximately 40% failure rate. Jaune was just on the edge of being part of that 40% the first time around. But that didn't mean that everyone who failed wasn't fit to be a hunter, per se. Many went to less prestigious academies or went on to serve in one of Remnant's military forces. The Atlas Marines, the Vale Rangers, the Mistrali Guard, etc., were all more than willing to take on the dregs of Beacon's rejects. She idly wondered if, had Jaune not gone on to pass his initiation, if he had might found a home in one of those places.

It was entirely possible, but it would have been a waste of his talents. After all, Atlas' military had been subverted in the worst possible way, and the Rangers had been routed in the face of the invasion. No, those institutions had their place, but the Hunter Corps was the only organization with a hope in hell of keeping the rest of the world safe from Cinder and her cadre of psychopaths and murderers.

…and there she went again with the mental tangents. She had never been so introspective, or so emotional before. She went from crying, to intense happiness, to brooding within the space of a few minutes.

Interaction. She needed to get back to the real world.

It was with this goal firmly in mind that had her finally finish her shower. Drying off, and picking through her clothes, she considered what to wear. She could simply go meet with Jaune and talk some more in a regular outfit, or…  
She found herself holding a black t-shirt and a pair of green boy shorts. Very short green boy shorts.

…well, at least she had the excuse that she wasn't quite in her right mind.

* * *

"Hey Pyrrha." Jaune said idly as she made her way back to the place where they had set up for the night, focused on something he was reading on his scroll. It was in the corner of the gym, away from most other people. There was a dull, constant background noise of chatter, but it was starting to die down as more and more people started to go to sleep. He finally looked at her out of the corner of his eye and did a double take.

She couldn't help the slightly satisfied smirk that crossed her face, although she did her best to play it off. "Hello Jaune. Dressed for bed already?" And he was, clad in sweatpants and a t-shirt from the 'Vale Secret Service' spy movies. It was the moment she saw that shirt again – a favorite of his – that she got an idea.

An awful idea.

A wonderful, awful idea.

Clearing her throat, she committed to her course. "By the way, do you like what you see?" She asked innocently.

He immediately started choking, pounding on his chest to get it to stop, as he looked back up at her again with comically wide eyes. "I-I'm sorry?"

Got him.

Keeping an oblivious smile plastered on her face, she 'clarified'. "I meant the movies. Did you like them when you saw them?" She pointed to his shirt. He looked down, his face doing a wonderful number of expression changes before he finally settled on 'confusion'. "Y-yeah…they were alright. I always saw a little bit of myself in the main character, y'know?"

She idly nodded along with him, while internally screaming all the while. Loudly.

Why, oh why had she done that? That had been a…a bout of teasing that was more like something Yang would do to a guy, rather than something she would. Granted, she had been surreptitious about it, whereas Yang would have owned it immediately, so maybe not the best comparison. But Pyrrha had never done anything like that. She had had a few passing interests in some boys before, sure, and obviously her relationship with Jaune was something she wanted to explore more…but this? This was a whole different level of…flirting.

Flirting. Is that why she had done it? She really didn't want to examine herself yet again, but now specifically looking for it, she could tell that she was jealous. Jealous that, last time, Jaune hadn't seen her as anything other than a teammate, until it was too late. Always pursuing Weiss and just…just not noticing what was right in front of him.

It hurt to admit that. It was a need for validation that she didn't even know she had. She didn't like it one little bit, but wasn't it natural to want the one you loved to see you the same way? Especially when he got his heart stepped on repeatedly by the frosty little heiress, while she had to scrape up the pieces.

But, his reactions at least confirmed one thing; Jaune thought she...desirable. She normally ever even thought about such things, but more and more she found herself wondering about herself, not as a warrior, or a student, but as a girl. A woman, even. She might have told Jaune back at the dance so long ago that she hadn't gotten a date because she was held up on a pedestal, but even back then, a small part of her mind had wondered differently. Was she not attractive? Looking at the obvious suspects for most beautiful in their year, there was definitely Yang, Nora…Weiss… and others as well. Did she not make the cut?

It was a terrible, demeaning thought, one she knew intellectually wasn't right, but in her heart, she still felt those pangs of doubt. As…unprecedented as her flirting with Jaune was tonight, at least it made her feel wanted. It satisfied much of the desperate need to connect with him she had felt over the past week.

She was here. He was here. And they were well on their way to becoming teammates again, and hopefully more. It was enough for her, and it made her feel a bit more at peace with herself.

Putting that engineered incident behind them, Pyrrha and Jaune chatted casually for the rest of the evening, until it was finally time for them to fall asleep. As she settled into her sleeping bag, she found herself looking forward to tomorrow, and knew that at least for tonight, nothing could touch her dreams.

* * *

The time had come. Initiation Day.

The morning passed by in a blur of preparation, from a hurried dressing, to a rowdy breakfast, to the organization of the first years into blocks of initiates. It was an orchestrated affair, but all the same, Pyrrha found it to be chaotic even the second time. She and Jaune barely had time to talk all morning, simply being too busy to really do anything.

He had been nervous about the whole catapult thing, but she had assured him that with his aura, he would survive a fall unless he intentionally tried to land on his neck. The thought had mollified him somewhat, and she had given him some basic advice, all while silently preparing herself for the need to launch her spear at him. With any luck, she wouldn't need to, if he simply crashed through the trees with his shield in front of him. The branches would break his fall…probably. But having a backup plan never hurt.

Time passed as some of the groups in front of them were marched to the cliff. Small groups of the initiates chattered excitedly, but most were quiet, mentally preparing themselves for the day ahead. In the audience hall where they were being kept, she could see all her comrades getting ready.

Finally, their group was next.

They were marched off to the cliff and lined up on their launch pads. Ozpin, with Goodwitch by his side, gave his speech about their mission objectives, mug of hot cocoa in hand all the while. As he wound it down, Pyrrha took a deep breath, holding her weapons tightly, before sparing Jaune a glance. He looked nervous, but had a firm grip on Crocea Mors, and had his sheath at his side, ready to deploy. About as good as she could expect from him.

Whoomph. It began with a yell of excitement from Yang.

Shwump. Thump. Boop.

Each launcher went off in quick succession, until finally she was vaulted into the clear blue sky, the wind rushing through her hair, and blood pumping with the familiar call of combat.

Now, things could really begin.

* * *

AN: Finally, we're here. Initiation day, the day Pyrrha will get her team back…OR WILL SHE? Will Ozpin drop the hat he pulled people's names from to make teams, and scramble them all? Will Weiss get eaten by an angry Nevermore, and then promptly get spit back out because she was too sour for it? Will Pyrrha jump Jaune in the forest and just ravish him right there? Will we see Cardin wear a Tutu? Why are you asking ME all these questions?

Just tune in next time (which will probably be next Sunday this time, I swear), and all these questions that you probably never wanted answered in the first place, will indeed be answered.


	4. Chapter 4

For the first time since waking up in the past, Pyrrha's mind was focused on only one thing.

The familiar pulse of her lifeblood rushing in her ears, the trembling of muscles, the electric air and hyperawareness that came from the rush of adrenaline. This was the kind of stuff that she lived for. Nothing could compare to the high of putting yourself in harm's way and spitting in Death's face.

The first time around, initiation day had been exciting, new, but over all too soon. Now, Pyrrha savored each and every instant. From the feeling of the wind rushing through her hair, to the tug of gravity as it reasserted its authority over her, she memorized it all.

Her shield came up, deployed with practiced ease as she held it out in front of her. She hurtled towards the ground, the tree line rushing up to greet her like the great jaws of a beast.

She met that embrace with cold, hard steel, smashing through the branches, her aura deflecting wayward branches and leaving a cut swath through the verdant trees.

She managed to land on a branch halfway up a tree, and quickly jumped up to a higher one to get a better vantage point. It wasn't hard to find Jaune, considering much like last time, he was screaming at the top of his lungs, a meteor of white, blue, and blonde. Unlike last time, he at least had the good sense to have his shield out, clutching it with both hands for dear life. He was learning!

A brief moment of satisfaction, before she hefted Miló, taking aim at him with some concentration. She'd have to time it just right if she wanted to hit him from this distance. Even with her semblance, using that to guide the spear's path would be difficult, if she didn't want it to simply deflect off his breastpla-

…wait.

She glanced down to the hand that held her weapon, before looking back at Jaune.

…no. No, there was no way she had been that stupid the first time around. There was a reason she hadn't done something so obvious and simple, and infinitely safer than hurtling a weapon at him at top speed to try and pin him to a tree.

Hoisting Miló on her back, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and concentrated on that familiar feeling of her semblance. The murky, inky feeling that accompanied it responded instantly. Opening her eyes to see her arm engulfed in the squirming black energy that heralded her ability, she held out her hand towards Jaune, and gripped.

It was stupid. There was no way she could get him at this range, she should have just put a hole in that hoodie of his agai-

The familiar tug of control greeted her after a long moment, and in the air, she could see Jaune start to slow in the air. Still falling, but…his momentum was starting to slow, like a puppet being jerked around in the air by the strings.

Pyrrha was done. This was so obviously bullshit that she couldn't even think of any other, more refined or thoughtful phrase to put to this new development. With a deadpan look, she used her semblance to very, very carefully reel Jaune in towards her position.

It was less flying, and more of a controlled fall, and a few times there she almost lost her concentration again. He jerked, bobbed, perhaps even weaved through the air like a drunken fairy, but after a few minutes, and a lot of repeated chanting of 'BULL-SHIT' in Pyrrha's head, he was finally able to step on a branch.

That branch promptly snapped under his weight, and he hurtled the rest of the way to the ground, screaming all the way before she could re-establish her hold on his breastplate.

Oh well. She'd tried.

Pyrrha jumped down to ground level, watching as Jaune staggered to his feet, a few branches in his hair. He brushed himself off, blinking all the while as he looked at his unharmed body. "Huh…that hurt a lot less than I thought it would."

"Mmmhm." She hummed, idly plucking a branch out of his hair, so consumed in thought that she didn't even notice the lightest dusting of crimson on his cheeks.

"That's the wonder of aura." She said, trailing off as she considered this latest development.

The fact that she had been able to halt his flight at that range with her semblance was troubling. She had never attempted something so outlandish with her Polarity before, yet it had been…easy. It was one thing to have manipulated the metal in Ozpin's office, but it was quite another to take hold of a moving target flying through the sky.

It was something that she never expected herself to be capable of.

"How did you do that, anyway? Was that your uhm…y'know, soul power thingy? The thing you did to stop Ruby from." Jaune asked after a moment, causing Pyrrha to purse her lips in thought.

"It was…" Here, she paused, weighing on whether or not she should ask him to keep what she did a secret. It would inevitably lead to some problems, but she didn't want word getting out, especially considering that she had never demonstrated such a drastically original use of her semblance before.

"… but Jaune, I must ask you keep this a secret, and I'll tell you why later. Can you do that?" She implored, which caused Jaune to hesitate, before he straightened out and nodded solemnly.

"I promise." He said simply, blinking and ruining the effect before he started plucking the remaining branches out of his hair. "So, what's next, anyway?"

Pyrrha bit back her initial instinct to take charge, hard. There was a difference between guiding Jaune, and leading Jaune.

It was very hard to do it though, and even now she caught herself saying, thinking, or doing things that weren't in line with her plan. It was a hell of an exhausting task, trying to create an equal when she had such a position of advantage over him. In some ways, to be proactive with Jaune, she had to counterintuitively be more passive on some fronts.

So instead of pointing out that they had to go forward, she instead gave him an expectant expression. "Well, what do you think, partner?" Partner. At least step one of her plan had gone right, even if she had to literally pluck him and drag him to her side to make sure it would get done. Better to leave nothing to chance, otherwise she might have lost her mind if he had encountered someone else first.

Jaune looked panicked for a moment, and opened his mouth, before Pyrrha gently held up a finger, holding it just in front of his lips. "You don't have to jump to your first thought. Think it out…" And suddenly, a bit of inspiration clicked. "Treat it like we're going camping. But with weapons." She said with a wry grin.

He laughed, sounding a bit more relaxed, before bringing his hand to his chin, looking thoughtful for a long while. It took a minute of thinking, and she wondered if he needed a little bit of prodding before he finally spoke again. "Well…we're looking for a relic, right? That means people, and people means water and food. So…somewhere near a river, if we find a river, we can probably go from there."

She blinked. It was a well thought out, if basic plan, and honestly, one she hadn't expected from him. She immediately felt awful for thinking it, but it was true. How well Jaune responded to some encouragement, to simply having a friend.

And it spoke volumes about how she had failed to be a good friend the first time. It made her heart ache, but she had already resolved to do better. Pyrrha was simply resigned to the fact that she was developing a taste for self-depreciation.

"That sounds like a plan to me." She said, pressing a button on Miló to shift it into its rifle form. Akóuó found its place on her back, ready for a quick deployment. "I suppose you'll take point, then? I can cover you from range easily."

Jaune hesitated, but steeled himself, hefting his sword with shield in hand, picking a direction away from the cliff face and setting off. Pyrrha followed him at a distance, making sure to keep a sharp eye out for any Grimm. "Thanks, Pyrrha." Jaune said after a short while of walking, glancing behind him for a moment. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

Just when she thought she had a decent handle on her emotions, he went and said that. "It's alright, Jaune. Everyone has to start somewhere." The words were just on this side of clipped, but she didn't trust her to say anything else. She had done okay so far in keeping a fine balance between indulging her need for a connection, and the fact that they were still technically strangers.

They walked in silence for a short while, making their way through the forest until the familiar sound of gunfire pierced the silence. Jaune didn't jump to her surprise, instead only tensing up a bit at the sound, which surprised her initially.

But in the end, she simply chalked it up to the fact that Jaune -had- gone camping with his father. Having to listen to him eliminate pesky Grimm probably wouldn't have been unusual. "I suppose that would be our peers." She said lightly, keeping an ear out for any tell-tale signs of approaching Grimm.

"Yeah. Think we should find them? Strength in numbers, or something." He said, voice strained, but clearly keeping it together, and trying to make light of the situation.

"You read my mind." She replied, before pausing, spotting a break in the tree line. There, from the shadows, came a Beowolf. An average one, but that didn't make it any less threatening. Hateful red eyes, bone spikes, claws that could shred through unprotected flesh with ease and crush mortal men without thought.

Jaune soon noticed it as well, as the beast began to sprint towards them. Her rifle snapped up to her shoulder with practice ease, drawing a lead on the dumb beast. At this range, she could easily dispatch with a lone Grimm. "Jaune. Want me to take this one?" She asked, uncertain if he was ready to fight a Grimm on his own yet.

He shifted in the corner of her vision, clearly uncomfortable with the idea. But she waited, patiently, tensing up on the rifle just in case she had to take the shot before he said anything, but he gave his answer. "M-maybe next one." He finally decided, gulping audibly.

A series of sharp, staccato cracks echoed through the clearing, as her rifle dispatched with the creature. A trio of holes pierced its hide, the beast whimpering pitifully before sliding to a halt only a few feet before them.

Already, it was beginning to fade, black smoke on the wind that dissolved into nothingness within less than a minute. Lone wolves weren't a problem to deal with, but where there was one…

The howl of the pack answered the call of her rifle, and from the tree line came three more of the slobbering animals, fleet of foot. "Looks like you have your chance, Jaune!" She said clearly, trying to distract him from any fear he might feel.

Miló spat another three rounds down range, glancing off the hide of one particularly tough old beast. Less than an Alpha, but more than the other, younger ones, it recoiled, the other two racing ahead of it, dirt flying from the earth-shaking beat of their paws against the terrain.

Miló shifted at her command, and she charged to meet the one on the right head on, cognizant of the one on the left. But it ignored her, instead charging straight for Jaune.

She wasn't particularly worried, if only for the simple fact that it could probably chew on him for a solid five minutes straight before he actually got injured, and she could have killed them all herself in less than two.

Her free hand found Akóuó, flicking the shield with her wrist, her semblance guiding, accelerating the spinning metal. Edged on the sides, it met the Grimm's flesh, inflicting a serious wound along one side, dazing the creature.

Her sword met its other side, carving a mortal wound even as it tried to take a swipe at her. The shield had knocked it off balance, though, and it missed her completely even as she took the creature's life.

Her shield sprang back to her hand, recalled with her semblance from the dirt. The largest Grimm had regained its footing, and was snarling at her, advancing once more.

She spared a backwards glance to see how Jaune was doing. He was fending off the beast with his shield, deflecting blows, but seemingly unable to get in a swing with his sword.

She would have watched to intervene, but the last Grimm was already upon her. A flick of her weapon's switch, and it shifted into spear form, the longer haft giving her a better range.

The beast was smarter and stronger than the others, with bone spurts along the shoulder blades giving it some armored plating. It attempted to gore her on the edge of one, charging straight at her. She rolled to the side, using the edge of her shield to shove it to the side. She shoved Miló into its vulnerable side, tearing a chunk out of the side. It roared in pain, spinning around to try and face her, but she was too quick. With a jump onto its body, she ran it through the top of its body, biting into the spine with the tip of the edge.

Pulling on the trigger of the spear, it flew out of her hands, accelerated by the recoil of the firing, digging deep into its body. It shuddered from the blow, then went still, already decaying by leaps and bounds as she pulled it out of its body with a semblance-assisted tug.

With her foes defeated, she turned her attention to Jaune…who was standing alone, sword in hand over the defeated body of his own Grimm.

She blinked.

At first, she thought that maybe that he had simply knocked it to the ground somehow, but no. He had killed it without her help, the tell-tale signs of decay already setting in.

She jogged over to him, where he stood mutely, watching the Grimm fade away. She stood at his side, staring at the spot left in the grass from the body. "I…I did it." Jaune said quietly, eyes glued to the spot, before they drifted back up to her. She met his gaze.

A pause.

"I DID IT!"

"YOU DID IT!"

They both shouted at practically the same time. Before Jaune could do anything, Pyrrha practically tackled him in a hug. He was clearly shocked at both the affection, and the impact, but eventually returned the embrace, the two spinning around slowly in place. Pyrrha pulled away from him, holding him at arm's length, a beaming smile on her face.

"I'm so proud." She said, letting go slowly and taking a step back. Best not to overstay her welcome, after all. While he probably didn't mind the hug, and while it was relatively appropriate, she didn't trust herself enough with the close contact for any longer than strictly necessary.

Jaune grinned, a bright thing that spoke volumes about how much his confidence had been boosted by even this short engagement in their initiation. "Yeah…it was a lot like you said the other day. Keep a clear head, outsmart it. I guess you got the other two, huh?" He asked, looking out to the other side of the clearing, where her other kills had already disappeared.

"Yes, but I also have quite a bit more experience than you do. To successfully kill a Grimm the day after getting your aura isn't a small achievement. Don't get too overconfident, but don't be too discouraged, either. Don't hesitate to engage, but if a Grimm becomes too much for you, don't hesitate to ask for my help." She said seriously. A part of her pained to temper her praise of Jaune, but she knew all too well the dangers of overestimating yourself.

Every time she imparted a piece of advice upon him, he was becoming more and more receptive to the next. He was starting to see what she already knew to be true; That he could not only simply survive, but he could thrive.

It made the part of her that reveled in competition, in the endless pursuit of the next challenge satisfied in a primal way.

People doubted Jaune's potential, but they couldn't see what she could see. His growth curve as a warrior was exponential. Going from being a mere civilian, to engaging his first Grimm singlehandedly in the space of a day?

He wasn't simply going to be good, he was going to be magnificent. What had his family been thinking? If he had gone to one of the academies, she very well could have been looking at her rival right now.

Oh well. Their loss was her gain, because she was going to not simply forge him into a competent teammate, she was going to make him her equal in every way that mattered.

When the Vytal Tournament came around this time, they would be unstoppable, both against the legitimate competitors, and Cinder's gang of sociopaths.

She shivered slightly, the thought sending traces of all sorts of…interesting emotions down her spine. But that would come in due time.

More gunfire interrupted her musings, the once distant sounds getting closer. Judging from the single, echoing cracks…probably Ruby. Her sniper rifle had a very distinctive sound. "I guess we're on the right track after all." She mused, swapping to Miló's rifle form once more. Jaune gave a sound of agreement, taking point once more as they continued their trek into the forest.

Of course, Pyrrha knew where the artifacts were, but she wasn't in any rush to get there. As far as she was concerned, this was a walk in the park, and a wonderful opportunity to get Jaune used to combat.

They encountered groups of Grimm on their path, and they once again split up the labor in a way that gave Jaune experienced, without having him be too overwhelmed.

Only once did a particularly cunning Beowolf get past his guard, scoring a shallow hit along his breastplate. Miló answered that particular transgression with extreme prejudice, spearing through the creature like the blade of an avenging angel.

Only she was allowed to touch Jaune, if she had anything to say about it…or maybe Nora for group hugs, because she was Ren-sexual, and thus posed no threat.

'Threats?' she thought. When had she started thinking in those terms? Jaune was not some sort of…object to claim and hoard jealously. She was just interested in his welfare, and clearly, his best interests lay with her.

Yes…that was it.

Not.

Who was she fooling at this point? She was intensely jealous of the thought of other girls being around him. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right, but it wasn't something she could ignore.

It had taken the destruction of their school for her to get around to admitting her feelings to him, and now all that had been done to bond them together had been undone.

She was still coming to terms with it, but it still stung. And she still desperately wanted to have that same connection she had had before.

Jaune had been treated like dirt by many of his fellow classmates the first time around, and that still stung. She hadn't recognized it at the time, but hindsight was a wonderful thing.

She kept circling back to this same subject. What right did she have to manipulate him? None, perhaps…but how could she stand idly by while his earnestness was met with scorn, simply because he was not perfect?

She simply didn't have the strength of will to deny her affections, either. But how much of their new relationship came from Jaune's own free will, and how much came from Pyrrha's intimate knowledge of how he thought?

She wasn't sure. And that uncertainty made her constantly doubt herself. But at the end of the day, all that mattered was making sure that Jaune was happy, and safe. If that required her to step aside, well, she would do it.

But it just might kill her all over again.

* * *

Pyrrha had to work to avoid the cave with the Deathstalker, considering it was right along their path. But some very subtle nudges on her part made Jaune avoid the cliff with the cave altogether. A cave might have been likely to hold an artifact, but the sounds of battle they had been following the whole time had been going away from that direction.

With that in mind, he had conceded the point, allowing them to continue. Pyrrha breathed a sigh of relief silently. As much as she was confident in her ability to kill one now, they also hadn't met the rest of their classmates yet, and it was a bit of unnecessary conflict. So, they avoided the cave, and finally, she saw some signs of familiarity. Namely, a giant Nevermore hauling an indignant snowflake through the sky.

"Pyrrha, look!" Jaune shouted, pointing up at the sky, where the winged shadow flew overhead. Pyrrha pursed her lips. This was not an encounter she was looking forward to, for a laundry list of reasons. But at the end of the day, Weiss was a comrade. She just didn't have to like the frosty little bi-

"Why would you leave me!?" Weiss screamed indignantly, just close enough to the ground to be heard.

"Hold on, Weiss!" Ruby yelled in return, punctuating her declaration with the crack of high caliber rounds trying to scare the Nevermore. It wasn't particularly impressed, and neither was Weiss.

"You idiot!" She squawked, the beast finally loosening its grip, deciding that its victim was more trouble than it was worth. Like a raindrop, Weiss hurtled to the ground, flailing about the whole while.

By this point, Jaune and Pyrrha had managed to double time it to the clearing, breaking through the tree line. "Pyrrha, can you grab her like you did me?!" Jaune said urgently, watching helplessly as she fell from the sky.

"I don't think I can. She doesn't have much metal on her, and I need that to do it. Her sword would just slip out of her hands." She said slowly, with mixed feelings on the subject.

On the one hand, what she said was true, insofar as she legitimately did think that halting her movement in the air simply wouldn't work. On the other hand, even if she could, she was feeling really petty right now. Besides, Weiss would survive. Pyrrha wasn't that lucky.

"What about our shields?" He asked, and the idea was clever enough that she could almost forgive him for using that ingenuity for the heiress. Almost.

"I suppose it's worth a try." She conceded, unhooking her shield, flinging it into the air, accelerating the disc with judicious use of her semblance. "Grab hold!" She yelled, Weiss having only a few seconds left to fall.

Weiss managed to grab a hold of it, scrambling up on top of the shield as it slowly lowered to the ground. Pyrrha watched as her shield carried Weiss into a safe falling distance. Then, with not even an iota of shame, she let it go.

Gravity resumed its normal course, and Weiss returned to falling helplessly, yelping in surprise.

"What happened?" Jaune asked, wide eyed, watching as Weiss hit the ground, a cloud of dust spreading from the point of impact. 'Eat dirt, Schnee.' Pyrrha thought with smug satisfaction.

"It slipped." She lied smoothly, shrugging even as she was fighting back a smirk. There. Now they were officially even…for now.

Jaune had absolutely no reason to suspect that Pyrrha had any reason to lie to him, but still, she could see the look of incredulity in his eyes. After all, she had done something far more difficult with him.

"It was a smaller surface, and I've been using my semblance quite a bit. "Which was true, but it had honestly been just as easy to use it that time, as it had been the first. What that meant, she wasn't sure. It was something to puzzle out later.

Walking towards the fallen girl, who was coughing and slowly picking herself off the ground, Pyrrha calmly recalled her shield back to her.

"I can't -cough- can't believe you let me fall!" Weiss snapped, turning to face them, and paling as she realized she had just accused the only girl at Beacon with a more impressive reputation than herself, of being incompetent.

"I'm sorry." How Pyrrha forced those words through her lips, she'd never know. "It was a split-second decision, and an…unusual use of my semblance."

A downplay to be sure, but she didn't want anyone to know just what she was capable of, outside her team. Until teams JNPR and RWBY became closer, there was no way she was taking chances.

Weiss accepted the apology with begrudging grace, glancing at Jaune with a look of dismay. "So, you already have a partner… I don't suppose we could switch?" She said hopefully.

"Weiss!" Ruby cried, making her way over in a burst of petals. The poor girl looked hurt at the prospect, but she didn't have to worry. There wasn't a chance in hell Pyrrha would agree to a swap.

"I'm afraid not." She said with just a hint of sadistic glee at the sight of that glimmer of light fade in Weiss' eyes. "Jaune is my partner, and I'm happy to have him."

"Thanks Pyrrha…but we still kind of have a problem." He gestured to the sky with a finger, the rest of them turning their heads skyward to see the Nevermore circling back, screaming through the air.

Well. That was a thing.

* * *

AN: Thank you to all those who've reviewed, followed, favored, and liked this story. Over 100 follows on alone since I've posted the story on this last Sunday! It's been quite an experience.

I have taken note of criticism, and advice in order to try and better format these documents. I apologize, since it is a bit of a pain to cross post these between SpaceBattles and , due to formatting differences.

I will take pains to try and correct this in the future, however.

Don't worry, we're starting to get there in terms of engagement with other characters. Here at the end of the chapter we see Weiss! Who Pyrrha really, really, REALLY doesn't like right now. All sorts of fun friction.


	5. Chapter 5

All things considered, the Nevermore currently baring down on them wasn't that scary. The one that had attacked the Arena had been far larger and infinitely more dangerous. This one was mid-sized, but with a vicious mean streak as it glared at them with red, hateful eyes. Hefting Milò firmly with one hand and Akòuò with the other, she considered the situation.

It wasn't like they were lacking cover from the bird, with the forest all around them. And with the Deathstalker preemptively removed from the equation, it wasn't as though they had to divide their firepower.

Pyrrha had to pat herself on the back for her forward thinking, but still…it was as though she had forgotten something…

"Noraaa!"

Oh. Right. Her other teammates.

A black blur crashed into the clearing, making the others jump back in surprise at the sight of Nora and Ren clinging to the back of a Beowolf that was clearly exhausted and half dead from its attempt to throw its impromptu riders off its back.

Ren stumbled off the back of the Beowolf, while Nora jumped up high, landing right on top of the creature's neck, snapping it with an audible 'crack'. It slumped to the ground, fraying at the edges while Nora hummed cheerfully, finally stepping down onto the ground.

Jaune winced a bit at the casual brutality, but the rest of the assembled people were mostly unaffected. After all, it was a Grimm, and when all was said and done, it was smarter to execute the beast in case it regained its strength.

…that of course ignored how insane it was to ride a Grimm in the first place, but with Nora, you took your victories where you could get them.

"Woah, what's everyone doing here? There a party?" Nora asked, pausing in her bouncy exuberance and tilting her head skyward at the caw of the Nevermore. Turning her gaze skyward, she cackled with glee. "There's even a piñata!"

If there was anything Pyrrha truly appreciated about Nora's quirks, is that when it came to killing Grimm, she did it with extreme prejudice.

The Nevermore swooped down, clearly unwilling to put up with any shenanigans any longer. Immediately, gunfire began to pepper the beast as Ruby, Pyrrha, and Ren began to take potshots at the creature. Weiss held back for as long as she could as the creature began to dive straight towards her, before spinning Myrtenaster's barrel, the tip of the rapier spraying it with a blast of ice dust.

It screeched in anger, flapping its suddenly weighted wings furiously in an attempt to get the ice off it. Pyrrha sensed her chance, shifting her weapon into its spear form, pulling the trigger. Aiming for the feathers of a wing, she was rewarded with the anguished roar of the bird as its other wing was crippled. It lashed out with its good wing, razor sharp feathers fanning out to try and skewer them.

Akòuò snapped up, slapping away the few that tried to pierce her defense. Jaune held his shield up, ducking close to the ground to defense his far more vulnerable legs, but yelped as he was bowled over by the force behind the attack. The others all dodged as they repositioned to get a better shot at now wounded creature.

Ruby's face was a mask of concentration as she aimed carefully with precision, dancing around the beast with short bursts of her semblance. The power behind her high caliber weapon was telling. At this range, the Nevermore had hunks of flesh gouged out of it with each shot.

But the beast was tough, hardy, and above all, quick. It lashed out against Ren, who more or less gracefully dodged its snapping beak. Nora replied to this transgression with Magnhild's love, the force of the grenade causing the beast to reel back. But the concussive force of the blast freed its other wing from where it was pinned, and it began to flap its wings once more, attempting to take to the sky, clearly realizing the error of its ways.

Pyrrha could smell the blood in the water, though, and raced to think of a way to finish it off now, recalling Milo back to her hand with a sharp burst of her semblance. To her surprise, Jaune raced past her, shield in hand. "Pyrrha, Shields!" He yelled, throwing his shield with all his might at the beast's head.

Immediately, she responded to his rudimentary plan, tossing Akòuò at the Nevermore's head as well. Digging deep, she reached out with both hands, _gripping_ the makeshift projectiles and accelerating them.

The force of the one-two punch rang the Nevermore's head like a bell, and they heard a rather satisfying 'crunch' as its beak gave way. It gave strangled cries of rage, stunned and seriously wounded.

"Weiss, freeze it, Nora, hit it!" Ruby called out, jumping into the air with a recoil assisted boost, shooting high into the air above the battlefield.

Myrtenaster span once more, Weiss unleashing that deadly blast of cold with a graceful casting. The Nevermore barely stood a chance, shivering as it was weighted down and unable to even struggle. Nora ran at the beast full tilt, bellowing out a war cry as her weapon shifted into a hammer. With an impressive windup, she smashed it right in its ruined face, causing it to flip over onto its back.

Then, like an angel of death, Ruby Rose fell from the sky, bringing Crescent Rose down in a swipe that carved its skull like a pumpkin. The Nevermore huffed a baleful sigh and died in the middle of the clearing, rose petals scattering around its corpse in the breeze.

Those hunters in the clearing gathered around the Nevermore, watching silently as it began to decay, each one gathering their wits, reloading weapons, and otherwise silently contemplating that bit of teamwork.

"Mmph. That'll teach that birdbrain." Weiss sniffed, breaking the silence as she flicked a few ice crystals off the tip of her weapon, leaving Pyrrha to blink in silence. She was even more shocked when Weiss turned to Jaune and inclined her head in something resembling respect. "Not bad." She remarked to Jaune, before pursing her lips and turning to Ruby. "And you…were not bad either." But if giving Jaune a begrudging compliment had been bad, then Weiss sounded as though complimenting Ruby was the same as having her teeth drilled.

Ruby, however, reacted as though Weiss proclaimed Ruby Queen of Cookies and Guns. "Best friend!" Ruby said gleefully, charging Weiss with outstretched arms.

Weiss watched in horror as the rose-patterned missile launched at her, holding out an arm to stop the other girl in her tracks. "No, no best f-"Weiss began to say, before having the air knocked out of her lungs by the other hugger in their little group.

"Best friends!" Nora proclaimed, wrapping her arms around both girls, squeezing the life out of them with her not-inconsiderable strength.

The three not involved in the group-glomp watched in various states of amusement, resignation, and shock before finally Ren decided that he didn't want anyone to die.

"Put them down, Nora." He intoned solemnly. Nora huffed in disappointment before releasing the two huntresses, Ruby and Weiss both collapsing to the ground, gasping for air.

"W-why…" Weiss wheezed, coughing as she struggled to her feet once more, her dress by now crusted with dirt in several places. Pyrrha winced in sympathy, knowing all too well what it was like to be on the receiving end of one of Nora's spine-wrenching hugs.

…maybe Pyrrha had been a bit too hard on Weiss. After all, she really hadn't done anything wrong this time around. Jaune hadn't met her yet and horribly botched that introduction, so Weiss had no reason to hold any disdain for him. Nor had Jaune demonstrated that rather…foolish inclination towards over-the-top romance.

That budding sympathy was then promptly crushed when Jaune smoothly stepped forward and offered Weiss a canteen. "Looks like you could use it a bit more than I could right now." He said with a nervous laugh, with a sheepish look on his face.

Weiss looked at the offered drink with unadulterated suspicion, before softening her gaze and accepting the gift for what it was when she saw the utter sincerity of Jaune's expression. She uncapped it and took a swig, before looking once more at Ruby. "…I'm going to try this one more time. Take it, and NO. HUGGING." She huffed, passing the canteen to her partner.

Ruby, for once, expressed some tact and accepted the drink quietly, a look of bliss on her face at the refreshment. "My head's still pounding from that hug…" She said meekly, pressing the cool metal to her face.

"Yeah, mine too." Weiss admitted, giving Nora glare that could have frozen a Grimm in its tracks. Nora was too busy plucking feathers out of the dead Nevermore's wing to care.

Ren looked thoughtful for a moment before his mouth twisted into a confused frown. "Uhm…I think that's not from the hug." He said slowly, holding up a hand for everyone to be quiet.

 _Thump. Cra-crack. Thump_.

More gunfire. Shotgun rounds and…pistol, maybe small rifle.

Blake and Yang? Hmm, Pyrrha remembered the two of them getting here before most of the others. What had kept them?

The answer came bursting out of the tree-line less than a minute later. Blake was high in the tree line, using Gambol Shroud as a makeshift grappling hook to propel herself through the air. She landed gracefully in the middle of the clearing, right as Yang ran full-tilt out of the woods, frantically waving her arms at the group.

"Move! Run!" She hollered, in a tone that made Pyrrha's confusion quickly morph into fear. Yang Xiao-Long was many things, but a coward she was not. What in the nine Mistrali Hells had spooked _her?_

"Grimm. A lot!" Blake clarified, panting as she came up to the group, pointing back at the woods she had come from with her weapon. "We need to go, now."

Nora was blissfully unaware of the fact that Yang didn't retreat without a reason, and instead hefted Magnhild, swinging it casually back and forth. "C'mon, girls. There's eight of us here, we can take them, right Re-"

Ren held up a hand and made a shushing noise. Nora and Pyrrha were both stunned by the action. Ren never cut Nora off like that, unless he was dead certain that it was necessary. That, more than anything, had Pyrrha on edge.

Then she began to realize why Ren had called for silence.

Blake and Yang had stopped firing. But the noise hadn't.

The thumping in the distance grew louder and louder with each passing second, the tree line rustling as though cowering in fear of what was to come.

A single howl pierced the silence, and a Beowulf charged from the underbrush. Before she could react, Crescent Rose dispatched with the creature, a single clean bullet hole piercing through the young creature's head. It slumped to the ground, digging into the earth and leaving a ditch from the impact.

But two more followed behind it. Then six. Then a dozen.

And then, the entire forest erupted into a cacophony of snarls, howls, the volume of which was unlike anything Pyrrha had ever heard before.

Forget fear, Pyrrha went straight past that and hit downright _terror._ Judging from the looks on everyone's faces, they weren't too far behind her in that department.

No command was given, no order sounded once the horde coming at them started baying for blood. Instead, the eight hunters-in-training turned tail and ran.

* * *

"Don't stop! For the love of all that is good, don't stop!" The words escaped Pyrrha's lips as the group made their way through the forest at a dead sprint, only slowing down to occasionally to pick off packs of Grimm that intercepted them from the sides. But even that was a gamble, considering that each time they did, that, the main group got closer and closer to them.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Jaune yelled back, unable to do anything more than run with them. If they got into melee range with the enemy, they were dead.

Thank the gods for Ruby's semblance, because at least she was able to provide some sort of cover fire from the trees, and then reposition in the blink of an eye.

"How many are on us, Ruby?" Yang yelled, bashing a Beowulf that tried to blindside the group, Ember Celica making its displeasure known as it blew the beast back into the woods.

"I-I couldn't count them! At least two hundred, but even more than that!" She hollered back, trying to sound brave, but was unable to hide the tremor in her voice.

Even a hundred Grimm, if they fought smart, they might have been able to handle together. Two hundred in close proximity, at once? The sheer flood of bodies would have made their smaller caliber weapons useless. Magnhild could only fire so many rounds at once, and its depth of penetration wasn't that good. Ember Celica was a weapon way too short range for this sort of thing. Myrtenaster maybe had enough raw firepower in theory, but it couldn't cast everything at once.

No, turning to fight a horde that big was suicide, and who knew how many Grimm were behind even the main bulk?

So, they'd have to fight dirty.

"Weiss! How much fire dust do you have?" Her question nearly made Weiss stumble, before she checked her cylinders.

"I have three quarters left! Why?" Three quarters of a full cylinder of concentrated fire dust…it might just be enough for what she had in mind.

"We need to slow these guys down. Start a forest fire, they'll have to go around!" It was a sign of their desperation that Weiss immediately began to spin to the right cylinder.

"I'm going to need some time!" Weiss yelled, trying to be heard over the rush of wind, and the screaming cries of the Grimm nipping at their heels.

At once, the entire group came to a sudden halt, turning to face the Grimm. Pyrrha barely even had to aim her rifle, but even one missed round was a waste at this point she could ill afford. She focused on taking shots at Grimm who were threatening to flank them.

Yang was on point, hair ablaze with her semblance as she did her best to hold back the bulk of the Grimm that were running head on into them.

Ren was right behind her, Storm Flower proving to be an excellent method of crowd control for those Grimm that tried to attack Yang from behind.

Nora took out whole packs of enemies at once with Magnhild, but she didn't unleash her entire arsenal at once. This wasn't a last stand, it was a delaying action.

Ruby was a blur on the battlefield, appearing and disappearing, her weapon carving a bloody swath through the Grim. It had to be killing her aura, but at this point, anything to buy Weiss a few seconds.

Blake and Jaune, oddly enough, were at their backs. Judging from Jaune's grunts of exertion, and the steady nature of Blake's shots, there were holding their own for now.

Weiss was the linchpin of this entire gambit though, and she was hard at work. A black glyph spun into existence, a red one right behind it as she concentrated, sweat pouring down her face before she thrust the tip of her weapon out. "Move!" She screamed. She had no more time to wait for the ones in front to move.

A concentrated stream of superheated, aura-enhanced dust flew out from her weapon. When accelerated by the gravity glyph she had layered in front of it, it lanced out with enough force and heat to make Pyrrha start sweating from dozens of yards away.

Yang, Ren, and Ruby barely had enough time to get out of the way before the forest caught on fire. A rolling wave of flame washed over the advancing Grimm, their frustrated cries of hateful agony crackling along with the inferno.

Myrtenaster 'clicked', the last bits of flame dropping off to ignite some of the grass in a shower of embers. All in front of them, underbrush crackled from the sustained heat, while some Grimm moved out from the brush, howling as their oily forms burned and wavered from the cleansing fire.

For a moment, there was respite as they caught their breaths for a brief moment. That would buy them at least a good minute, but it was a minute they couldn't afford to waste.

They all grouped up and began reloading, checking the state of their ammunition. It wasn't looking good for most of them, judging from their frowns. They had only packed enough ordinance for a regular day's worth of fighting, not the shootout this initiation had devolved to.

"What's the plan?" Blake asked, golden eyes narrowed as she slid back the receiver on Gambol Shroud, making sure she had a round chambered.

No one spoke for a moment, everyone frantically racking their brains to try and figure out what to do.

"The relics!" Jaune blurted out, causing everyone to look at him with incredulity. Even Pyrrha couldn't understand why he brought up such a…well… a stupid suggestion. The test didn't even _matter_ at this point, not when they were trying to survive.

"Wait, he's right!" Ruby said, eyes dawning with comprehension. "There will be other hunters there, and maybe a position we can defend!"

Oh. _Oh._ Now Pyrrha felt a hot flush of shame at dismissing Jaune's thought out of hand. In hindsight, it was a logical thing. But the only problem with that plan was the fact that the ruin with the relics wasn't defensible at all.

…wait. There _was_ a ruin they could defend. "Follow me, I think I know where we can go!" She blurted out, making everyone look at her with renewed hope.

Not a moment too soon, they took off again, the Grimm delayed, but not deterred from the chase.

* * *

It was a good thing that Pyrrha remembered where that old Temple was, otherwise they would probably all be dead by now. Still, it was a hell of a close thing. By the time the tree line thinned, they could see it… with the bridge in the distance. Maybe a quarter of a mile in the distance the stone walkway met the cliff face, to the right of their group.

All things considered, it wasn't even that far. But that ignored the fact that the Grimm horde was going to slam right into them any second.

"Go! Let them have it, we can make it!" Yang encouraged them, rushing ahead of the group and socking a Beowulf that was dumb enough to stick its head out of the woods, high-impact shotgun shell practically pulping its head in one go.

The rush for sanctuary turned into a run-and-gun scramble for safety. Everyone was firing madly, cutting through the ever-thickening Grimm that were catching up with them. With their change in direction, the horde was hammering them from the left, with their right a drop into a gorge that they couldn't even see the bottom of.

Pyrrha's heart raced, as she had to utilize all her talents to simply keep up with the rest of the group, trying to stay close to Jaune so he didn't get blindsided.

From sword, to spear, to rifle again, she hacked and hewed and shot at all manner of Grimm that threatened to overwhelm them. The volume of gunfire coming from the group was non-stop, with Nora and Yang managing to clear enough space in front of them to keep the group moving.

It seemed like it was going to be just enough. They were going to make it.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune screamed, causing her to turn around. An Ursa was mere feet away from her, rearing its claws up, threatening to push her off the cliff. Time stopped for her, as she stared death in the face once more. There was practically no time to jump, or dodge, or stab it. The thing just had too much height and weight to do anything.

Before she could try to react though, Jaune slammed into the thing shield-first, knocking it off balance and over the edge. It screamed in impotent rage, hurtling to its death.

Jaune followed it over the edge.

Her heart dropped down into the pit of her stomach, and she screamed wordlessly. She couldn't even hear herself, though. All she could hear was the blood pumping in her veins, the frantic beating of her heart, and the mindless, all-consuming panic she felt.

With all her might, she reached out with her semblance. A corona of dark energy erupted from her hand, arresting Jaune's momentum without the slightest hesitation. Gravity itself bent to her mastery of metal, and she looked ahead to the temple. With a mighty heave, she shot Jaune, who was screaming himself, at the temple itself.

Holding out his shield in front of him tightly, he smashed into one of the stone walls, groaning in pain as he hit it, dazed from the impact. "Thank you!" He said drunkenly, struggling to stand on his feet.

The relief hit her like a freight train, but she had no time to relax. The group still had to move, and she was falling behind. She charged ahead, jumping over Grimm, ducking and weaving through their attacks with every bit of skill she could muster.

The bridge was right there, and finally, she was the last one across.

Then she turned to see what they were going up against, and blood froze in her veins.

Forget hundreds of Grimm. There must have been thousands of the things lined up on the cliffside. Some pitched off the sides of the cliff, unable to halt their charge from the tree line before hurtling off the side. Perhaps a dozen gone from the horde, a drop in the ocean in reality. But why…why were there this many Grimm in the first place? There was nowhere near this many Grimm the first time around. Something had changed and changed drastically. But what? Pyrrha could only guess it had something to do with her, but that made no sense. Yet it was the only possible explanation.

"We need to blow up the bridge." She heard Weiss say, with a calmness that was utterly at odds with the fear she knew they were all feeling.

With an uncharacteristic quietness, Nora stepped up, taking aim at some Grimm that were even now trying to follow them across. The 'thoomp' of her grenade launcher sounded off, the round destroying the walkway and sending more Grimm hurtling to their demise. In a single move, they blew up the only means of access for the Grimm, but also destroyed their only escape.

They were trapped.

* * *

AN: I know, it's very cruel to leave you all hanging on this note. But I am nothing if not cruel!

I know what you're all thinking, too: What the fuck is going on?

Well, as you well know, I'm not one to indulge too much in giving away too many plot points before their time has come. All will become clear; however, I hope this chapter was a break from Pyrrha's endless emotional turmoil. Very action-packed indeed, and it will set the stage for a lot of what is to come. Also, let's be honest; This turn of events is, if nothing else, a bit more entertaining than the Nevermore that was never really that threatening to begin with.

But to be clear, I did not do it JUST for the whole 'rule of cool'. Like everything, there is a reason there is a departure from canon. It just might not be revealed until way later down the line.

So, with that in mind, enjoy, leave comments, review.


	6. Chapter 6

Well…at least none of them were dead!

Pyrrha gave herself a mental pat on the back for thinking such positive thoughts as she gazed at the horde of howling Grimm that were aligned on the other side of the gorge.

It had been a close thing, too. Emotionally, she was doing pretty okay as well.

Well…she mightttt have just lost it a bit when she thought that Jaune was about to die after body slamming that Grimm…

Okay, she couldn't really lie to herself this time. She wasn't exactly the picture of mental health after that mad dash through the forest.

But, if nothing else, she was hardly alone in that feeling. Anyone would have been ready to turn tail, screaming at the top of their lungs with a horde of Grimm that large coming after them.

"Why are there so many Grimm?" Ruby asked softly, startling Pyrrha out of her thoughts. She had to desperately bite her tongue, because it would be crazy to try and explain her theories.

"Hell if I know." Yang said simply, idly checking her gauntlets while she did so. Shells fell out of Ember Celica as she reloaded.

Before anyone else could speak, Pyrrha felt her skirt pocket vibrate. Frowning, she checked it and fished out her scroll, the others in their rag-tag group doing the same.

If the horde had been chilling before, the words on her scroll made her blood _freeze_.

BEACON EMERGENCY ALERT  
PRIORITY CODE: ALPHA-ZERO-CASTLE  
THREAT RATING: LEVEL 8  
MESSAGE:  
To All Beacon Initiates, this is NOT A DRILL. IMMEDIATELY EXIT THE TESTING AREA IF POSSIBLE. Otherwise, SEEK SHELTER. Set your Scrolls to SEARCH AND RESCUE MODE. Bullheads are being dispatched to your location. Grimm presence in the test zone is overwhelming. DO NOT ENGAGE, repeat, DO NOT ENGAGE.  
BEACON EMERGENCY ALERT

Level 8 was only a step below what the attack on Beacon back in her time had been. Granted, _that_ had been made far worse by the fact that their defenses had been heavily sabotaged, and the White Fang had been participating in on the attack.

But still, a level 8 incursion on initiation day? That wasn't simply threatening. That was a _disaster_. A level 8 threat rating was designated a "serious threat to outlying municipalities", and those usually had dedicated Hunter teams for defense, as well as local garrison of soldiers of some kind. The Breach had, in the aftermath, only been classified as a level 5.

For that many Grimm to be concentrated in a place where there was nothing between them and the initiates…

"Oh fuck." Jaune breathed, summing up her thoughts on the matter. Even someone as un-versed as Hunter policy as he was knew how serious this kind of thing was.

Ren stepped up to the front of the group, looking across at the narrow platform they were standing on. "We're going to be okay, though. There's no way for the Grimm to get across." He declared with a calmness that was like a balm for Pyrrha's spirit.

There was just one problem with that statement that Pyrrha _knew_ would backfire.

"You're going to jinx us, Ren!" Nora huffed in indignation, hefting her weapon as she eyed the solid black wall of death on the other side of the gulch, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The Grimm did not disappoint when it came to matters of murder. One particularly brave – or genocidal – Beowulf sniffed the air, howled, and hurled himself off the side of the cliff.

It fell like a stone, hurtling into the mist below. The 'thump' that echoed off the canyon walls gave a good indication as to its fate.

"What an idiot." Weiss sniffed, clearly glad to see one more beast gone from the world. Not that Pyrrha could blame her, after what the Nevermore did to her.

They all watched as progressively, more Grimm tried to follow its example, seemingly throwing themselves to their deaths fruitlessly.

"What are they doing?" Ruby said, sticking her tongue out in a mask of concentration as she watched, mystified.

Blake was at her side, golden eyes narrowed, before finally, she put it together. "They're trying to bring down the temple!"

Indeed, one agile Beowulf managed to jump just right, scrambling for purchase on one of the gigantic stone pillars that held the bridge to the temple aloft. It began to jump up the pillar, gouging out chunks of stone.

More soon followed, the Grimm attempting to leapfrog the debris in order to attack them, while demolishing parts of the complex in the process. Many died in the attempt, but there were more than enough to cause worrying damage to the rest of the temple's foundation.

Some even managed to actually pull themselves to the top, such was the driving force of their hate for humans. In a practiced motion, Pyrrha dispatched with one that was getting close enough to threaten them.

"Someone try and get a distress signal out. We're not going to last long here." Pyrrha said, with only the slightest waver in her voice.

"I got it." Ruby said immediately, pulling out her scroll and deftly going through the functions with gusto. Knowing that she was a bit of a tech-head, Pyrrha trusted her to do it.

Nora looked especially, uncharacteristically grim about the situation, as Magnhild came up once more. "We should probably try and thin them out."

"You might hit the pillars." Ren pointed out, causing the tip of Nora's weapon to lower.

"Rennnn, just let me blast the Grimm in peace." She said in exasperation, causing her totally-not-boyfriend to shrug his shoulders.

Meanwhile, Ruby finally got a signal going, and started speaking in a bit of a hurried tone. "Mayday, Mayday, this is Ruby Rose with a group of students in the forest, on top of an old temple, can't miss it! We need evac, a whole load of Grimm is about to send it tumbling down, Mayday!"

Pyrrha took the initiative to start giving the Grimm something to think about, well-aimed shots from her rifle taking down a few Grimm in repeat succession. But it didn't do much good, considering the quantity of them that were trying to bring down the temple around their ears.

Thankfully, only so many were willing to jump at once, so instead of the entire mass of Grimm trying to topple the structure at once, it was a steady stream of them instead.

Weiss stepped up beside her, taking aim at a particularly troublesome clump of Grimm that were clinging to a pillar. With a flick of her wrist, her rapier spat a concentrated blast of wind, leaving the structure intact, but causing many of the Grimm to lose their grip. They tumbled to the awaiting canyon below.

As those with ranged weapons began to join in the fray in an increasingly desperate defense, the fumes from the dead Grimm littering the canyon floor began to drift up, creating a miasma of midnight that grasped for them like the greedy hand of Death itself.

But if Pyrrha had anything to say about it, that wouldn't happen again.

…apparently though, her ammo was feeling particularly traitorous today. With a 'click', Milo ran dry, and she had no remaining magazines.

"I'm out." She managed to say call out calmly, reverting her weapon back to a more easily carried form.

Thankfully, Weiss still had a decent loadout of dust remaining in Myrtenaster and was able to pick up a bit more of the slack, the fencer using practiced motions to wipe scores of Grimm away from the shaking temple.

'If we make it out of this, I'll make it up to Weiss.' Pyrrha mused in a fit of irreverence, idly considering what to get the girl who had almost everything she could ever want at her fingertips. Hmm…she did like dogs…

"Hey, um…Pyrrha?" Her head snapped to the left at the sound of Jaune's voice. He was standing right behind her, looking particularly lost, and more than a bit frightened.

"Do you…think we're gonna, y'know…be alright?" He finally managed to ask, his voice going unnoticed by everyone else.

By this point, even those with short ranged weapons were trying to pick off Grimm. Blasts from Ember Celica rained down on the Grimm, bolts from Crescent Rose pulping false-flesh, and more besides.

Judging by their quiet curses and the conservative nature of their shots, they weren't far from running dry, too.

With that in mind, Pyrrha turned a bit to look Jaune right in the eye. "No matter what happens, Jaune, we'll face it together."

It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but it was what he needed to hear. He seemed to take it to heart, taking a shaky breath and closing his eyes for a moment, before opening them, giving her a small nod.

Some of the others finally began to run out. Nora was first, Magnhild having been used judiciously to try and push back the Grimm on the cliff. Ruby was next, followed by Yang.

Then, they heard a sharp 'crack'. One of the pillars came tumbling down, crashing into its fellows. The tower began to shake in spots, ancient dust disturbed for the first time in ages.

But with the herald of their doom, also came the dawn of their hope.

Over the sound of the collapsing temple, three Bullheads came racing over the horizon, from the direction they came from. Munitions of all sorts rained down from the loading bay doors, as the Hunters aboard exterminated the Grimm with extreme prejudice.

One turned around and circled back around, laying down suppressing fire upon the Horde, while two others descended, hovering feet away from the temple.

On the first one, Coco Adel stood in the doorway, Minigun smoking from prior use. "Bus is leaving, folks!" She yelled out.

She didn't have to tell them twice. At this point, the whole structure was well and truly coming down, stonework breaking off into pieces everywhere they looked.

Teams RWBY and JNPR managed to each hop aboard, even Jaune who had to take a running start first.

But they made it, with about thirty seconds to spare. Even as the temple crashed to the canyon floor, in a sound of destruction that could be heard over the engines, they were already speeding away, back to Beacon.

The instant she was strapped in, Pyrrha sagged against the wall of the dropship in relief.

That had been way too close.

No one talked on the ride back. No one wanted to, with how exhausted they were mentally and physically.

But as they neared the school, Pyrrha finally decided to ask the question that everyone was thinking. Turning to Coco, who was looking out at the forest below, she spoke up. "How bad is it?"

Coco merely turned to look at her, her lips a thin line. That was when Pyrrha knew it wasn't bad. It was worse.

* * *

The airstrip was a swarm of activity, with Bullheads flying every which way, and groups of people moving around on the ground.

Professors, students, members of the Vale Hunter Corps, and more were all shuffling around, trying to get where they needed to go in the wake of the sudden evacuation of the Emerald Forest.

They were waved into a landing spot by a member of the ground crew and managed to disembark in relatively short order.

Pyrrha gave Coco a surprised look as she remained on board the aircraft. "You're not getting off?"

The fashionable gunner shook her head. "There's still more kids out there, we think. You guys were at the center of the largest horde for whatever reason. That's why we went for you first, and any other teams in serious trouble."

Tilting to the side, she wrapped on the bulkhead of the cockpit, and Pyrrha took a few steps back to allow the aircraft to rise back into the sky.

"I think they'll be alright. I mean…if we were taking the brunt of it, how many more Grimm could there have been?" Jaune pointed out.

If it had been a regular attack, he might have had a point. But this was a completely unanticipated ambush, in the middle of a sparsely populated area, when the initiates were doubtlessly only carrying light amounts of ammunition.

Judging from the amount of medical staff going back and forth, too, things were definitely not looking good. She saw more than a few bandages on those students who were walking.

If there was one silver lining though, is that this had happened so close to Beacon, they could take advantage of the world class trauma unit they kept on campus.

"We had the advantage of the most defensible position in the forest." Weiss pointed out. Pyrrha grimaced, wanting to avoid thinking about the reality of the situation like that.

It was true, they had all gotten out safely, but their circumstances were unique. It was all a matter of numbers, timing, and training for those who were just out in the forest, looking for the Relics.

"All initiates!" They heard a booming voice call out. Turning their attention to the sound, they saw the cause. Professor Port had a megaphone in hand, amplifying his already boisterous tone. But this time, there was no joviality in his words.

"Please proceed to the auditorium immediately if you are able." He continued. "All those who are injured, please proceed to the infirmary for treatment."

Before Pyrrha could start to even walk, a team of medical staff pushing a gurney ran past her team.

A gut feeling told her that she didn't want to see what they were doing. But another part of her forced her to turn her head. Her team, then Team RWBY turned to see what the commotion was.

At first, she couldn't even comprehend what she was seeing. But then the horror became all too real.

The first thing she managed to process was the fact that his left shoulder was practically _hamburger._ A shredded red mass of flesh that was being barely held together by sinew and thread.

There were other injuries, too, that registered only after she tried to tear her eyes away from the sight. His leg was broken, twitching periodically as he trashed about weakly, mumbling incoherent gibberish.

She tried to at least look at his face, but that was slick with gore, too…was that his _eye socket-_

Jaune wretched beside her, and this time not a soul made fun of him for his weak stomach.

A girl dropped out of the aircraft, standing next to the gurney. If Pyrrha wasn't mistaken…that was Velvet, Coco's teammate.

The rabbit Faunus, who Pyrrha had remembered as being demure and more than a bit meek, snapped something at the medical staff, who backed off from whatever they were asking her to do.

The girl promptly grasped the uninjured hand of the boy, and they all made their way toward the hospital.

As they past them once again, she could hear the consoling words and soft hushes from Velvet as she assured him he would be fine.

"I-I don't…" The maimed boy coughed, crimson staining his lips. "I don't wanna die." He moaned, a panicked, desperate plea.

That's when Pyrrha put two and two together, and she felt a thunderous wave of grief batter her already tenuous mental state of mind as the revelation threatened to break her.

 _'Gods above, CARDIN'_

Indeed it was him. The class bully, who had in her past life tormented plenty of people on the grounds of Beacon. She hardly liked him, and more than once since coming back had imagined just what she would do to him if he dared to try and pick on Jaune.

But no one deserved this.

It was a cruel irony to see him like this, desperately clinging to Velvet while his life's blood spilled out.

She trembled in place as they wheeled him away, watching until he finally disappeared inside.

Pyrrha desperately wanted to do something, anything. But she could not, and that impotent, useless emotion ate away at her soul like acid.

The others were trying to cope, but the sight of such gruesomeness was overwhelming. Ruby had her head buried in Yang's shoulder, the taller girl comforting her sister, while lilac eyes were just barely hiding her own discomfort at the scene.

Ren had silently reached for Nora's hand, helping to calm his partner down from what surely must have brought back awful memories for the two of them.

Weiss was clearly in shock, eyes still staring after where Cardin had disappeared to, but eventually managed to school her looks into something more or less composed.

Blake was the least visibly effected of them, but Pyrrha chalked that up to her time in the White Fang. She was better at hiding her discomfort than most, although now that she knew to look for it, Pyrrha could see the slight disturbance of her ears, wrapped in the confines of her bow.

As for Jaune…

Well, he had at least managed to stop his fit of gagging. He was a bit green as he took a more-or-less standing position. Pyrrha reached out to rub circles against his back, in soothing motions.

Contrary to what had been on her mind only a day ago, this was not meant to be an advance. Merely a friend offering comfort, as little as it was.

It felt like an eternity had gone by, but it hadn't even been a minute. The world continued to move on, unbothered by a life changing wound and the jagged scars it would leave in its wake.

Pyrrha knew that, in time, they'd probably get over it. To them, Cardin was just another random student.

But for her, he was a bloody sign of just what would happen if she didn't get things right the second time around.

By the time they got to the auditorium, it was already packed with students and staff filling in practically every available space. Combined with the small pool of reporters who had cameras trained on the podium, and it was a chaotic scene filled with nervous energy.

Teams RWBY and JNPR settled into seats in the back, just as Ozpin finally made his appearance at the podium.

Taking slow strides up to the place, it was a testament to the man's charisma that he didn't even have to take time to steady himself before speaking. The only thing he did was affix them with a commanding gaze, before diving in.

"Members of the press, citizens, and students." He began, his voice heavy with a burden that he alone could carry. "As of 1 PM, Vale Central Standard Time, there was a level 8 Grimm incursion into Zones E-1 through E-36, better known as the 'Emerald Forest' that is used as one of Beacon's primary training grounds."

He paused to let this sink in, the frantic flurry of questions that immediately flew from the reporter's mouths like gunfire halted by a single raised hand. "Hold all questions until the end, please." He said solemnly. He cleared his throat once and continued.

"The unusual nature of the Grimm migration is partly to blame for the unexpected nature of this attack. The Grimm converged on the forest simultaneously, meaning that the continuous ping on our sensors was initially dismissed as a technical glitch."

That certainly explained a few things to Pyrrha, and yet left her with more questions. All of this was pointing towards an induced attack, on the face of it.

But if Cinder had wanted her dead, she would have come herself to finish off the job. With an army of Grimm, she could have probably could have killed her again at the temple.

"When we received the first distress signals from our students, we mobilized all Hunter elements at our disposal. The rescue operation was swift and decisive, with the majority of all students now recovered, and experienced extermination teams cleaning out the Grimm as we speak." Here, Ozpin finally hesitated.

"However, I regret to inform you that twenty-three initiates were killed, with approximately forty having injuries ranging from mild, to critical." He finally said, to much uproar.

Pyrrha had been expecting news like this. But hearing the number of deaths she was indirectly responsible for left her numb.

Last time around, only two students had died, with maybe a few dozen receiving some injuries. Hell, only one of those deaths had been from the Grimm, the other had been from cracking their skull open from landing in a rather unfortunate place.

That many deaths was unprecedented in an entire Beacon school year, let alone on the first day.

After the noise had died down to a tolerable level, the address continued. "In light of the nature of today's events, all initiates, including those who need time to recuperate, are formally accepted into Beacon should they still wish to do so."

There was a shift in his stance, and he visibly stood tall, shouldering his responsibility with all his might. "I will not lie to you all. The day's events were horrific. But they are a taste of the reality of life as a Hunter. As many of you have learned today, sometimes there is no room for error, no time to retreat." He declared.

"Some of your fellows have paid for this lesson with their lives, though they are beyond its wisdom now. Yet here you stand, with a chance to learn from it. Mourn, but do not allow despair to consume you. That would dishonor their memory."

When had that lump formed in her throat? Damnit. She would not cry, she would _not._

"Know that to realize this life is not for you, however, is not cowardice, but wisdom. The wisdom to know your own limitations. I wish you all the best, for those that choose this patch." His gaze was hypnotic, with everyone hanging on his every word.

"Yet for those of you who choose to pick up this burden, know that those who are not with us today stand behind you, in the ancient and unbroken tradition of all defenders of Mankind. But the dead are not your only allies, for your fellows are there too. No matter where you may have come from, no matter who you might have been, you are all brothers and sisters today."

It was like a switch had been flipped, but Pyrrha oddly enough found herself still managing to hold herself more less together. But the quiet murmurs of distress at the sheer _emotion_ the student body was feeling added a swell of tension to the room. Many of them were openly weeping, quite possibly remembering those who had been torn away from them.

"Take heart in your strength, for you have emerged from this hellish crucible intact. Today was a tragedy, yes, but it is one that could have ended far worse. Your dedication and resolve were tested today, far more than we ever intended, and you've all passed with flying colors. Come what may, no matter your future at Beacon, hold your head high when you remember this day. For today, though you might leave Beacon tomorrow, I consider you all Hunters, and I've never been prouder."

There wasn't a dry eye in the place as he finished. Yes, there was grief, sadness, and anger, but there was also an unmistakable feeling of hope in the air. It was not a speech meant to sugar coat the truth, yet it was one they needed to hear.

Pyrrha desperately needed to hear something like that, even if her deepest, darkest doubts continued to fester in the back of her mind. She clutched at the hope like a drowning woman, letting it hold her afloat, protecting her from the turbulence of her life's course.

Ozpin proceeded to take some inconsequential questions from the press, some from the students. It was a dull drone in her ears, mere background noise.

Then they were dismissed. They all loitered around the grounds, ate a late lunch in the cafeteria. No one really talked. No one wanted to.

Eventually, after dinner, the professors came around and set up desks with gigantic reams of paper on top.

They had everyone form lines, and eventually, they were all distributed. Pyrrha glanced at hers with a dull sort of curiosity.

Teams had still, somehow, been determined, and Pyrrha wasn't even surprised to see that both RWBY and JNPR remained intact. It was a victory to be sure, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

The night was still young, but they still had to unpack their dorm rooms. That was done largely in silence, with Nora and Ren taking comfort in one another's presence.

Pyrrha couldn't do the same with Jaune, not so casually. Yet…she had sworn to do better this time, no matter her discomfort.

So, when Nora and Ren finally fell asleep, Pyrrha rolled over in her own bed to look at Jaune, who was trying to bury his head in his pillow.

"Are you awake?" She whispered.

He rolled over to face her, eyes bleary from exhaustion. "Yeah. Just…thinking." He said in a sigh of defeat.

She had a feeling she knew what he was thinking about.

Quitting.

Not on her watch. _Never._

So, it was with care that she poked a hand out from under her blanket and reached out to him. "No matter what happens, we'll face together. Remember?" She said with the best attempt at a smile.

That smile turned real when he reached out and gripped her hand right back.

* * *

AN: It's been a while, I know! My other story, Highest is Heaven, has been taking time away from this. But, I feel it's ultimately lead me to overall more content, and better content on both stories as well.

More emotions! And some surprises for many of you, I think, in where I was taking this. Kudos to those who pointed out there would have to be some Beacon response to a Grimm horde of that size in the middle of an initiation.

I hope it all comes across as believable enough. It was tough writing this chapter, trying to stake out the appropriate tone and mood. I hope you enjoy it.


	7. Chapter 7

It was a universally known fact that you were either a morning person, or you were not.

Nora, for instance, was the embodiment of 'bright and early'.

Ren would then wake up with Nora, even if it took a cup of tea for him to really get his day started.

Jaune was the classic Mr. 'Five More Minutes', who more than once had to be shaken out of bed lest he be late for classes.

Pyrrha wasn't one to lay about in the morning herself. Early to bed, early to rise, and all that.

But this morning, she was contemplating gratuitous, bloody murder if the sun did not extinguish itself.

The thin ray of light poking through the blind of her window managed to land *just* where her eyes were, her entire body recoiling at the sensation.

With a languid motion more akin to the reflex of a lizard, her eyes blinked open. A glaze of grime was glued to her eyelashes, and she groaned pitifully in disgust.

Yeah. Fuck today.

She immediately rose from her bed to find salvation in the bathroom, only to run into the closed door head first.

…at this rate, she was going to kill her team mates this time around.

Suddenly, a scent hit her nostrils, and Pyrrha breathed deep. That aroma…she knew it from somewhere.

Reflexes kicking in, she wheeled around to see Ren standing behind her, already prepared for the day.

"Nora is still getting ready. I thought that you and Jaune might appreciate something to drink." He informed her.

Yes…the smell, the ceramic mug he was holding in his hand. It all began to add up, and her eyes glazed over.

To Ren's credit, he barely flinched when she snatched the cup of coffee out of his hand, like an owl would snatch a mouse from the grass.

But when she started to drink it, neither Jaune, who was nursing a cup himself, nor Ren could quite hide their horror.

"I-is she drinking the cup too?" Jaune asked in disbelief, such was Pyrrha's zealous consumption of the nectar Ren had given her.

When she finished, her body was wracked with a slight convulsion of bliss, until a creature that was more human than a few minutes ago blinked back at the two of them.

"Mmm…" She hummed in contemplation, licking her lips of the last few drops of liquid that remained on her lips. "Needed a bit more sugar." She said to herself, blinking when she remembered that there were other people in the room. "Thank you, Ren."

"No problem." He said, slowly coming to the realization that perhaps red hair was, in fact, a sign of insanity.

Pyrrha didn't notice the new fear she had struck into the hearts of her teammates, however. With fuel now coursing through her body, she could stand to be awake now.

And, as an added bonus, Nora wouldn't have to die for keeping her from being clean. As much as Pyrrha was learning to embrace her inner vindictiveness, she was starting to see that grudges were best reserved for those truly worthy of them.

People like Cinder. Or past-Weiss.

Letting the now scoured-clean cup hang limply at her side, she checked the clock mounted above the door to their room and promptly shut down.

9:41

Her first instinct was to panic and panic she did. Opening her mouth to scream why her team mates hadn't woken her up, she also caught herself as a thought crossed her mind.

Sure, being late to class would be troublesome…but in the grand scheme of things, its not like they had anything to teach her at this point. She had already sat through most of the first year classes anyway, barring ones towards the end of the term.

Not to mention, at this point, her team would have probably been in panic mode too.

"Why aren't we in class?" She instead asked after a long moment, patting herself on the back for thinking things through.

"Classes were canceled for today, and will start tomorrow." Ren said without missing a beat.

"Well…that's a good thing, I suppose." She said, mind already whirling away at what they could spend the time doing.

"Yeah. I just got up myself, I don't think I'd have been ready to sit in a classroom all day." Jaune admitted, scratching the back of his head. "Is breakfast at least still going on?"

"The cafeteria is always open. Normally they divide things up according to year, but today it's a bit of a free-for-all. Or so a very tall second year who was waiting for a tea told me." Ren replied promptly.

"Well, that's a relief, 'cause I'm starving." Jaune said, before getting off the bed languidly, stretching sore muscles and smacking his lips together.

It was this moment that Nora chose to reveal herself, opening the bathroom door to reveal that she was finished. Eyes twinkling with mischief, she bounded over to Ren and poked his nose. "I told you I could get ready quickly, silly."

"I never doubted you for a second, Nora." Ren said with a deadpan – even by his standards – look.

Jaune got up from the bed, stretching out and yawning. "Well, guess I'll go get rea-"

He was cut off by the sound of the bathroom door slamming shut, with a Pyrrha-shaped cloud of dust the only clue was to what happened to her.

"-dy" He finished lamely, scratching his chin idly. "I should have known better. I have seven sisters." He clarified when he saw Ren and Nora giving him questioning looks.

Nora's eyes went wide, and she whistled in appreciation. "Seven? That's seven more than I have." She tilted her head in thought, then looked at Ren. "Could you imagine seven more of me?"

Ren imagined for a moment, then shuddered briefly, as though someone, or seven someones, had just walked over his grave. Even for Ren, it was too early for this.

Pyrrha could hear the muffled banter of her team mates through the door and smiled to herself. It was…relieving, in a way that did much to relieve the tension she had been carrying with her.

As she went through the motions of starting up the shower and undressing, she pondered what to do with their time. A free day back before everything went up in smoke meant a day for everyone to lay about and do nothing.

But now? Pyrrha knew that each day wasn't to be wasted. They had to do as much as they could to prepare, to get stronger.

By the time she stepped under the cleansing rain, she had a rough plan formed in her head. Hopefully the others wouldn't think less of her for wanting to start training, but one way or another they needed to do it.

Unlike last time, Pyrrha wanted to get Jaune up to speed combat wise sooner, rather than later. Now that she knew what _didn't_ work while training him, she could probably boost his growth curve by quite a bit.

More reluctantly though, Pyrrha was going to bring in Ren and Nora in on their training. When the thought had crossed her mind, she had dismissed it…but she kept coming back to something that had occurred to her.

In many ways, they had been Jaune and Pyrrha, with Nora and Ren thrown in as an afterthought. There were very few attempts at cooperation between the two sets of partners when it came to fighting.

In some ways, Jaune was the only one that brought them together. When he had come up with plans, Ren and Nora had performed admirably, but other than that? They hadn't really practiced that much together.

That had to change, for a number of reasons. But the more she thought about it, the more it made her uncomfortable.

She thought of Ren and Nora as friends, comrades, and would have gladly taken a bullet for them…and, in some ways, had already. But something about that rang hollow to her. Sure, she might have known Ren and Nora the teammates, but she hardly knew Ren and Nora the _people_.

One more thing to add to her mind-numbingly long list of things to rectify.

As she finished washing up and drying, she paused to look at herself in the mirror. In some ways, she was the same had she had ever been.

She was tall, in some ways a bit gangly ever since puberty, but she'd grown into it nicely. Blessed with skin that needed only minimal management, coupled with a figure that, well…she knew she had no cause to complain. Topped off with the one vanity she indulged; her hair. A flaming red mane, vibrant and cascading down her back like a mantle, a banner of all that was _Pyrrha_.

When she looked herself in the eye, though, the illusion fell away.

She looked tired, hunted in many ways. The signs of strain were there, in the creasing of skin, the faint shadows underneath her eyes.

For the first time in a long time, Pyrrha felt ugly.

There was a lingering sense of corruption that was clinging to her very being, and it made her squirm under her own gaze.

It was an unbearable malaise, and it sized her, to drag her down. The dread gripped into her with oily fingers, and toxin stained her, tendrils of murky ink that made everything so very, very cold.

She wanted to die.

But she had to _live_.

But what was living, though, when by all rights she shouldn't have even be ashes in the wind?

Pyrrha was being torn apart, and all she could do was let her despair gnaw away at her soul and it _hurt_ and-

 _Knock-Knock!_

A hand at the door of the bathroom brought her back to reality. She jumped, startled out of her mind, heart racing as color and sound came roaring back.

"Pyrrha? You okay in there?"

Jaune. It was Jaune.

She slowly pieced herself back together and cleared her throat. "Yes." She said simply, before mentally kicking herself at the unhelpful answer. "I'll, ah, be out soon."

Pyrrha managed to claw her way back to sanity, taking great pains to try and focus on the present moment.

Soon enough she was opening the door, dressed for the day, to see Jaune standing there patiently.

"Thanks Pyr." He said cheerfully, whistling the whole while as he stepped by her.

She couldn't do anything but mutely nod, not trusting herself to speak.

She slowly trudged over back to her bed to sit down, waiting with the others who were engrossed in some light chit chat.

All things considered, she was grateful that Nora and Ren didn't pick up on her…unusual mood. That might have made her really break.

But no, no, she couldn't, and wouldn't do that. Not after all she had been through.

 _Focus_. She needed to focus.

It was that mantra that managed to get her on a more even playing field, although it took the rest of Jaune's shower time to do it.

When he was out, she was able to put on a straight face, not alright but not on the verge of collapse either.

"Finally!" Nora sang, springing up from where she had been sitting, practically dancing in place as she expressed her excitement. "Let's go team! Lead the way, fearless leader!"

Even as Jaune scratched the back of his head in an 'aw shucks' kind of way, Pyrrha found herself smiling a bit at the banter.

Sometimes a bit of laughter really was the best medicine.

* * *

Breakfast was…subdued. The first time around, everyone had talked up a storm. But after yesterday? Not so much. The exuberance, the joy was tempered by harsh reality.

Oh, that didn't mean it was _quiet_ , far from it. It's hard not to have noise when you have hundreds of students milling about the dining hall, eating and drinking.

But conversations were a dull roar, a white noise that sharply contrasted with Pyrrha's past experience.

Granted, she was a bit too busy tearing into the food like her life depended upon it to really _care_ , but that was besides the point.

She had become more attuned to these sorts of things. Death had made her think.

Also, it seemed to make her hungry. _Really_ hungry.

She paused in the middle of a bite of pancake, swallowing as she considered that. It had been an errant thought, but there was a bit of a deeper truth to that, wasn't there?

Ever since she had come back, she was almost… _more_ alive. More attentive, but also more impulsive. More thoughtful, yet more careless. Her emotions ran hot, but depression could make her freeze.

 _Was_ it possible, for death to make someone sensitive to life?

She didn't know, but it was a plausible explanation for the changes that had come over her. She might have been unbalanced, but she wasn't stupid enough to not recognize that. Un-Pyrrha-like thoughts had almost become the norm overnight, and it was very noticeable.

Any further musing on her part was interrupted by a sudden feeling of impending doom.

…

…or was that Team RW-

"Mine!" _Zoom_ went a red comet, trailing roses across the table.

Yep. It was their sister-team.

The other three members of the color-coordinated team strolled in after their leader, Yang surveying their table with her usual confident attitude.

"Sup' guys?" She drawled, taking an empty seat next to Ren and giving Jaune a questioning look from her position right across from him.

Pyrrha was keenly aware of the empty seats next to her. She felt immensely relieved when Weiss and Blake chose to sit next to Yang instead.

Not that she didn't like them, but…she was enjoying just sitting next to Jaune. By herself. With a minimal amount of distraction from that state of affairs.

"Eh, y'know…" Jaune replied back, clearly a bit nervous with the attention that he was being given. "Just, ah, trying to fuel up for the day."

If Yang found him less than eloquent, she didn't comment on it. Weiss sniffed a bit at Jaune's answer, but blissfully kept her mouth shut. Pyrrha forced herself to release her white-knuckle grip on her fork.

'Its just Weiss being Weiss', Pyrrha had to remind herself. Weiss scoffed at everything. That didn't mean Pyrrha needed to fly off the handle just because it was directed at Jaune. Plus, she had gotten even with her already.

…that didn't mean she had to like it, she decided after a moment, and resolved that was a compromise she could live it.

"What about you?" Pyrrha managed to ask after a moment, trying to break some of the awkwardness of the conversation by putting the ball back into Yang's court.

"Eh, I don't know. Weiss Cream over here wants us to start studying for everything, ever, like a nerd." She said, to a squawk of protest from her teammate. "But I'm thinkin'…nah."

"I just want us to take the time to get ahead! Is that so wrong?" The frosty girl protested, huffing in indignation like she had a PhD in exasperation.

Blake merely rolled her eyes from her seat next to Weiss, clearly having heard more than enough of this argument.

Pyrrha tried very, very hard not to agree with Weiss here. She really did. But for her own reasons, she couldn't help but say "I think that sounds like a good idea."

Weiss' expression attained a new, hitherto-unknown to mankind level of smugness, while Yang looked like Pyrrha had just told her she'd shot her dog. With a cannon.

"I just…after yesterday, don't you think that maybe training with our teammates would be a good idea?" Pyrrha managed to spit out in a hurry, her words running together in her haste to distance herself from Weiss' own quirky brand of academic workaholism.

By this point, everyone had turned away from her food to look at her. Yang especially looked at her with newfound comprehension, turning the idea over in her mind. "Mmm…that's not a bad idea, firecracker." The blond mused. "Considering Ruby's probably gonna end up eating all the sweets in the cafeteria, she'll need an outlet for all that energy."

As if called by her sister's words, Ruby reappeared in a tornado of crimson beside Pyrrha, brandishing a plate towering with all manner of breakfast goodies.

Plopping the massive pile of sugar down on the table – which weighed so much the solid oak surface visibly bent – Ruby took a seat beside her. "What'd I miss?" She asked, before proceeding to devour her heart-busting collection of sweets.

"Eh, Pyrrha here things we should all train and stuff since classes are cancelled." Yang said, while Pyrrha eyed the hoard of baked goods that Ruby had amassed.

Even Pyrrha knew that you didn't give Ruby that much sugar. What on earth was Yang thinking?

Weiss couldn't help but make her opinion known. "That simply can't be healthy for you." She declared, gazing at Ruby's cornucopia of calories like it was some sort of grotesque alien lifeform.

Her partner paused from doing her best blender impersonation to reply. "Oh yeah? Well, uh…it's training."

"Training." Weiss said flatly, raising a delicate eyebrow in disbelief.

"Yuh-huh. I'm ah…traininggggg to keep going in the face of overwhelming numbers! Yeah!" Thus, satisfied with her answer that fooled precisely no-one, Ruby turned back to continue slaughtering the defenseless food she had amassed.

Not that Pyrrha could really judge. Her own eating habits today had been less than ladylike.

Still, out of all the people who had to deal with this, she felt bad for poor Blake, who had probably done nothing to earn the impending suffering that was Ruby on a sugar high.

They all ate in relative silence for the rest of the time, barring the occasional piece of banter back and forth.

It was…nice. Refreshing. It kept Pyrrha's spirits up, allowing her to face the day ahead.

"You said you wanted to train?" Ren spoke up after they were all finished, surprising Pyrrha, who gave him a nod.

He hummed in thought for a moment. "I think it would be a good idea. Jaune?"

Her partner blinked, clearly confused at the question. "Why are you asking m- oh, team leader thing…right."

He breathed deeply for a moment, collecting his thoughts before shrugging. "I mean…Pyrrha has a point? Training can only be a good thing."

Despite his less-than-confident answer, everyone seemed satisfied with their current goal, Nora grinning and all but cackling at the prospect of sparring. "This is gonna be fun!" She said, giving Jaune a particularly predatory look that made him crack a nervous smile in return.

"Fun…heh…yeah." He managed to spit out, shooting looks of panic to Pyrrha every so often. He didn't have much to worry about, though. Nora could be a handful sometimes, but she wasn't actually out looking for blood.

It would be a good, nay, _vital_ learning experience, for all of them. They couldn't afford to rest on their individual talents. Considering what was to come, complacency would mean certain defeat.

What were a few bruises and some hard truths, compared to the lives of everyone in Vale?

* * *

They had to collect their weapons from their room, so by the time they managed to make their way to the gym, it was already closing in on noon.

It was busy, busier than Pyrrha had expected it to be, before mentally kicking herself. Of _course_ , there would be more teams training in light of yesterday's events.

Most of them, Pyrrha didn't recognize. Third and fourth year teams, with some second year teams thrown in for good measure.

There were few first year teams, though, for what Pyrrha was sure was a variety of reasons. Most were probably still recovering, or it simply hadn't occurred to them to take this first step.

Meanwhile, the higher years had actual field experience. They understood the risks, and the disaster yesterday only pointed out the necessity of training to most of them even more.

That didn't mean that the first years wouldn't catch up, though. Hell…if it came down to it, maybe they could organize regular extra-curricular spars under the guise of training for the Vytal Festival?

It was a distinct possibility, one that Pyrrha would definitely have to look into. But now, to see how this training went.

They managed to get into one of the less crowded rooms in the back of the sprawling exercise facility, one that was specifically designed for team-on-team combat.

"I think some one on one might be the best way to start this." She found herself saying as they made their way inside.

"Sounds good to me! Partner on Partner?" Nora chirped, already limbering up with some light stretching, practically vibrating in place.

"A wise choice." Pyrrha replied lightly, relieved that someone else had suggested it. All the better to start teaching Jaune better habits now.

He himself looked like the weight of the world had been taken off his shoulders, enough so that he was able to grasp Crocea Mors in a somewhat confident fashion.

Before he paused, mid-heft.

Pyrrha watched as he took a deep breath, visibly steeled himself, and started speaking.

"Listen, guys?" He began, clearly struggling to get the words out of his mouth as everyone turned to look at him with curiosity.

All at once, Pyrrha could practically hear his next words before he spoke them.

"I…I have a confession to make. I…" Deep breath. "I lied on my admission papers."

Pyrrha knew that already, but still, the impact of hearing him say it, to them, without being caught out in the lie yet was a complete surprise.

Before Nora and Ren could react to that, Jaune continued his explanation. "I don't have any training. I didn't even have an aura before I came to Beacon. I didn't even really know what aura _was_."

If Nora and Ren had been shocked before, they were floored by that particular bit of information. Yet still, Jaune pressed onward.

"After yesterday, I almost quit. But I want to do this. I _need_ to do this." He looked their other two teammates in the eye in turn. "But that doesn't mean I should lie to you about it to do that, either."

The resulting silence was probably the quietest she'd ever heard during her time on Team JNPR.

Jaune visibly deflated more and more, resigned to take his lumps. "If you want to tell the staff, I understa-"

Even to Pyrrha's trained eye, she could barely follow Nora as she surged forth and crushed Jaune in a bear hug.

"You. Are. So. STUPID." Nora wailed, as Jaune wheezed in her grasp, her arms squeezing the life out of him.

"Brave…" She muttered, relaxing her hold just long enough to allow her teammate to get a desperately needed breath of air, before she constricted him once again, so hard it caused his aura to flare. "BUT STUPID."

Ren took a few steps forward to gently lay a hand on his partner's shoulder. "I think he understands, Nora." He said wisely, to which Jaune frantically nodded.

"Yes, yes!" He rattled faintly, turning faintly blue from lack of air.

Nora finally realized Jaune did, in fact, need to breathe, and so released him. Jaune promptly fell to his knees, inhaling deep gulps of air.

When he finally staggered to his feet, Ren gave him a critical look, which Jaune met with some hesitance, but resolve.

Satisfied with whatever he saw, Ren sighed. "If you had told us this when we first met, I might have been inclined to report you to the faculty. But after yesterday, I couldn't do that. You fought bravely." He extended a hand to Jaune, who looked at it with wide eyes.

"I'm honored to have you as our team leader." Ren finished, a small smile gracing his normally neutral features.

Jaune accepted the offered hand, a genuine look of relief on his face.

They all turned to look at Pyrrha, who merely smiled. "I was the one who unlocked his aura." She said by way of explanation. "I knew he would tell you when he was ready."

She hadn't been expecting the truth to come out this early. In some ways, it was a relief. But she also had to be careful here with what she revealed. If Jaune mentioned Pyrrha had 'sensed' his lack of aura, that might reveal her excuse for what it was.

Thankfully, no one commented on that bit of information, accepting it at face value.

"Phew…I feel like we just went ten rounds there!" Nora said, faking wiping off a bit of sweat from her brow, before giving Jaune a playful tap on the shoulder.

"Yeah, you're telling me." He said, before rolling his shoulders, reaching down to pick up Crocea Mors from where he'd dropped it. "But we're here, so…might as well train, right?"

It took everything Pyrrha had not to cry. Her team was well on its way to being what it was before. No. _Better_ than what it was before.

But she was done with tears for now. Grabbing Milo from her side, she swung it in a little flourish, and smiled playfully. "With pleasure."

* * *

AN: Holy crap has it been a long time.

To all those who have left comments on both my stories, I greatly appreciate your words of encouragement. Unfortunately, school and work and real life commitments being what they are, my time for fanfiction writing has diminished greatly.

But hopefully, my writing pace will pick up a lot more now that some of my motivation has returned to me as well, in spite of my reduced time.

However, to keep myself motivated to write more, I've decided to take the liberty of creating a Discord server to chat with those who are following my stories.

If you are interested, here's a link. Be warned, I don't tolerate bullshit, and no NSFW-content will be allowed. For those of you who are reading this on Fanfiction dot Net, check Spacebattles for the link in question, since it won't be here in full. However, the extension should allow you to get in if you have a bit of know-how of how discord links work.

/6D9dMDh


	8. Chapter 8

The clang of metal on metal rang out in the confines of the exercise room, as Ren tested Jaune's guard with a flurry of swipes from Stormflower. The blades that extended from the bottom of his machine pistols were blurs of metal, crashing against Crocea Mors in a staccato beat.

Jaune was not to be intimidated lightly, however. He stood his ground, waiting for a break in the storm to lash out with the edge of his blade. Ren smoothly danced around the edge, one of the fangs coming up to slice his arm.

Aura flared, but Jaune had plenty to spare. Stepping inside Ren's guard, undeterred by the lash of pain, Jaune attempted to bash his friend with his shield, forcing Ren to put some distance between them once more.

Nora and Pyrrha were off to the side on a bench, watching the spar with interest. They had all been training for the past few hours, rotating between sparring, and teaching Jaune some of the basics of fighting.

He was a quick enough study, for what he needed to learn. Jaune was best suited for a fairly simple style of combat, in part thanks to his almost unfair aura reserves. He was a tank, being able to dish out and sustain blows over a long period of time.

Of course, it was bad form to simply stand there and take needless damage. So, they were opting to teach Jaune how to best utilize his energy, rather than simply expend it all in a futile attack, or waste it endlessly defending.

It was a very Vacuoan mindset, that of the patient warrior who timed his blows perfectly. It was something that Pyrrha herself had familiarity with, but her own fighting style was more of a mix of disciplines. Instead of waiting for openings, she created her own thanks to her high-energy, high-movement style of fighting. With Milo and Akouo, she had a wide range of options to put her opponent on the backfoot and press the advantage until they were defeated.

But Jaune didn't have the time to hone his instincts until they were sharp as her own when it came to the ebb and flow of combat. Perhaps by the time they were scheduled to graduate, but they didn't even have a _year_.

Further musings were cut off by the resumption of the spar. This time, Jaune attempted to press the offense, lashing out with a quick strike. Ren spun around it, nailing Jaune in the cheek with the flat edge of one of his weapons, sending their leader tumbling down with an 'oof'.

Pyrrha and Nora both winced. That one hadn't been pretty.

Still, Ren helped Jaune to his feet with an outstretched hand. "Sorry." He said with a bit of a sheepish look on his face.

"No, it's alright." Jaune said with grace, even as he briefly brought a hand up to his cheek to check it for damage. "It's not like anyone else would hold back in a fight."

"True." Ren said, eyes examining Jaune as they both once again took up ready stances. "Pain is a good teacher, if you can recognize the lessons it holds." He said wisely.

Jaune turned that over in his head for a moment before taking a deep breath. "So…what does that hit tell me, then?"

"You over-extended." Ren said with a shrug of his shoulders. "It's a common mistake. If you leave gaps in your guard by attacking, then someone can exploit it."

"How do I avoid it?" Jaune asked, glancing at his sword briefly. "I mean, I have to attack at some point, right?"

"Eventually, yes. But it's all about maintaining control over yourself and your surroundings. Its…" And here, Ren huffed as he fought for words. "There's a lot of theory behind it. But all it boils down to is keeping everything in mind when you try and strike, and evaluating the risks, before committing to it."

A good enough explanation, and Pyrrha could sympathize with Ren's frustration over being unable to convey it. Like so many things in combat, you could only learn by _doing_ , rather than with words.

But Jaune could power through it. He'd done it once before.

Already, the two boys were setting up to go again, and Pyrrha watched with interest.

It was a good thing that Jaune was learning to go up against more agile opponents first. Someone like Nora could bash Jaune around, but ultimately Jaune could plant his feet and bear it.

Meanwhile, someone like Ren could inflict damage by a thousand cuts, and without experience, Jaune wouldn't be able to respond to such a strategy.

Well…assuming they weren't so far above his skill level that it didn't matter anyway.

Pyrrha took a quiet breath, closed her eyes and dismissed her thoughts. Better to actually watch the training unfold. There was only so much planning she could take before she got sick of it.

When she opened her eyes again, it was clear that Jaune was attempting to strike a balance between decisiveness and caution.

It made his movements erratic, unpredictable. It wasn't at all very _smooth,_ but it served to keep Ren wary.

As Ren attempted to bat around Jaune's defenses to get his measure, her partner struck. His blade swiped through the air and connected at just the right spot to score a good blow, disrupting Ren's balance.

Pyrrha found herself smiling, then wincing once more as Ren performed an acrobatic feat that would have been tough for _her_ to pull off, and swept Jaune off his feet.

Now, Ren was visibly sweating, and grunted as he helped Jaune back up. "I…think we should call it a day for now." Ren suggested.

It had only been a few hours, but Pyrrha conceded the point. Vale hadn't been built in a day, after all. Even slightly shorter sessions than this everyday would do a world of good…

"Coming, Pyrrha?"

The question startled her out of the trance she had been dipping into. The rest of the team was heading for the door, and they were all looking at her with various degrees of curiosity.

"I just want to practice one last thing before calling it a day." She said, pasting a smile on her face. It wasn't untrue, but she hadn't meant to make a scene of it.

Thankfully, they didn't think much of it. Ren and Nora were inclined to live and let live, and Jaune trusted her absolutely.

"Right, we'll save you a spot at the table." Jaune said with good cheer.

It was a wonder she didn't melt into a puddle, so warm was the emotion that bloomed in her heart. She just gave a wordless nod and stood, while they filed out of the training room.

She was motionless for a good minute, both to make sure they were gone and also because she simply was…

There was only one word for it. She was nervous. In spite of her active use of her semblance over these last few days, discovering more about it in the process than she had in the _years_ she had used it before… it still felt wrong, somehow.

Perhaps it was just her uneven emotional state. Regardless, feelings had no place in battle, and so she strode to stand in the center of the room. With the slightest hesitation, she held her arm in front of her.

Then she _pulled_. Her aura responded without the slightest delay, pulling an iron weight from a stack of them near a set bars and dumbbells.

The iron felt weightless, held in a grip forged from her aura. She held it, closing her eyes as she tried to study the sensation.

It was instinctive, formless in her mind, and she almost felt stupid for trying to derive any greater meaning from it.

But then she looked closer, looked ever so closer, and at last, she felt it. A hum in the back of her mind, a dull sound that resonated in time with the faint ebony wisps that highlighted her arms whenever she used her semblance.

It wasn't than the enlightenment she had hoped for. A mere sensation that meant little and less when she had never heard it above the song of battle before.

She stared at the cold, black iron hovering before her for a long moment.

A slow emotion began to build in the pit of her stomach. It was an ugly thing, and even its shadow made Pyrrha tremble wordlessly.  
Was this it, then? A buzz like a fly rattling in her skull, an outline on her arms like she was a poorly drawn cartoon character, and the ability to cheat at bench-pressing?

One's semblance was supposed to be an expression of the soul. When she had been a little girl, she had imagined her own one day would be something grand, and magnificent.

Granted, even then, she had already been head and shoulders above her peers, so it wasn't as though she had _needed_ it.

When she had first made a practice sword levitate during training, she had desperately tried to put her ability out of the back of her mind. She tried to relegate her semblance to simply being a subtle edge to her already nigh-inhuman grace in fighting.

But really, if she was being honest with herself now, she was _furious._

Where others received the ability to shrug off blows, run faster than the wind, or outlandish things bordered on magic, she was a _glorified magnet_.

Strands of darkness began to drift off her arms like smoke, and the weight shivered slightly in the air, but Pyrrha didn't care.

That the very _manifestation_ of her _soul_ was something as mundane, as ultimately _useless_ as this made her blood boil.

If she only had a damned semblance that could've _killed that miserable bi-_

The sound that came from the weight was like a thousand knives scraping against each other. Billowing strands of her semblance's dark corona erupted from her arms, and then, in the blink of an eye, the weight crumpled in on itself.

Before that could even register properly in her mind, the resulting disk of super-hardened iron promptly exploded.

It was only finely honed reflexes that kept her from getting hit, ducking from the shards of metal shooting through the air in practically every direction. Even then, one still managed to glance off her cheek, her aura flaring to prevent what otherwise would have been a serious wound.

When it was finally over, she tentatively looked up from her position on the floor. Most of the shards had lodged themselves every which way. Some were dug into the floor, others had hit the walls, and a few had even dug into the ceiling.

Cautiously, she got up and walked over to the center of the detonation and knelt down, freeing one of the larger shards with a yank.

It had dug a good half-inch into the floor...which was designed to withstand actual explosions and bullets alike.

She considered the sharp fragment in her hand. It was a jagged thing, the size of a small needle with edges that would slice through flesh with ease. Peering at the thing, she could even see a faint line roughly down the middle where it was clear the weight had _fused_ , before coming apart so violently.

Well…that certainly had never happened before.

This new development served to make the rage drain from her as quickly as it came, leaving her feeling a bit light headed.

Tentatively she reached out with her semblance again, yanking out the fragments one by one, letting them collect in a small clump that hovered near her.

Pyrrha took a deep breath, collecting herself as she wordlessly brought the twisted metal over to a trash can, and let it fall inside, clattering against the plastic interior.

Not the most elegant means of getting rid of the evidence, but then again, this was Beacon. Weird was the norm.

Others might have stayed to test this new, bizarre facet of her power. But the emotion associated with it was too raw, like a fresh bruise just starting to purple.

Instead, Pyrrha called her weapons to her side from where they leaned against the bench and strode out to enjoy the rest of her day with her teammates.

* * *

There was a door here.

Pyrrha considered the door. Then frowned.

When had she stepped in front of a door?

Where was she?

There was a haze in her mind. Like grasping at water, her thoughts slipped through her fingers.

A dream? Perhaps.

The door beckoned. A gate really, wrought metal, festooned with chains that barred the way, heavy locks lacing together the barriers to form a solid defense against intrusion

It was a puzzling thing to stare at. Indeed, it seemed more real than she was in this place.

She raised a hand. Made a fist and slowly unclenched it.

She could break it down. Something inside her begged to do it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Whereas others might have jumped in fright, Pyrrha merely turned around to see who was addressing her.

It was…no one she had ever met before. A short girl, with skin the color of honey and eyes of pure amber.

"Why not?" Pyrrha asked, the words slipping out of her mouth.

"It would probably kill you right now." The girl said with a trace touch of amusement, before frowning. "You're not fully here, are you?"

"No." Pyrrha agreed. "But what does it matter? I died once already."

That seemed to shut the figment of her imagination up, before it gave a quiet retort. "You might not care, but the girl on the other end of that door might."

Spite gave a flush of clarity to Pyrrha's mind. "I don't know that I care much about anything right now."

"That's a lie." It replied instantly, much to Pyrrha's annoyance. "You care about Jaune. Ren. Nora. Team RWBY. And everyone else besides."

"Really? That obvious?" Pyrrha said with a surprising amount of venom. "I don't need my dreams lecturing me about my emotions."

"Someone has to." The apparition said, its displeasure writ across its face. "You know, I wasn't expecting you to be this much of a bitch."

"What can I say? I'm a woman of many talents." It felt good to let loose a bit of her pent up anger, Pyrrha mused. People did say bottling it all up was no good in the end.

The girl sighed and massaged her temples. "I don't even have a body and you're giving me a headache. Look, this sniping is pointless. Don't break open that door. Take it from someone who's been around the block a few times."

Was this…thing…seriously asking her to trust it?

The girl clearly seemed to have realized that she said the wrong thing, and hastily attempted to backpedal. "Look, I get it, you're tired and angry and-"

"You're damn right I'm angry." Pyrrha all but hissed. "I've had enough of people telling me to trust them, saying it'll all work out for the best."

That hollow feeling in the pit of her soul was making itself known in the worst of ways. Pyrrha's already tenuous grip on reality in this place was fraying. But she couldn't stop her impulses, didn't _want_ to stop.

"I've had enough of being _told_ things." She continued, taking a few steps towards the girl, who backed up.

The space they were in had a floor, of sorts, but abruptly ended in a drop that seemed to go on forever. Pyrrha made her back up until her feet were about to tip off the edge.

For one brief moment, Pyrrha considered it. Tackling the girl and taking them both over. But that…that was the easy way out. She squashed the nihilistic urge and focused on banishing the fog from her wits.

With sheer strength of will, she managed to dredge up clarity. Things snapped into focus around her, the abyss becoming a hateful, writhing void that was even now eating away at the edges of the dream.

The girl was no one she knew, but now Pyrrha could make out finer details about her. She was wearing an archaic dress and had no noticeable weapon that Pyrrha could make out. And she was clearly afraid of Pyrrha.

Behind her, Pyrrha could _feel_ the door. Knowing that it even existed was an affront.

"This isn't just a dream." She realized.

The girl was wary, and surprised as she replied. "No. This is…something a bit more real than a mere dream."

"The door. What happens if I _never_ open it?" Pyrrha demanded. This was important. She knew it was.

A long silence, before the words were grudgingly said. "You'd die then too. But that's not what I intend for you. You will break the door…but now? No. It's too dangerous. Your soul is already in tatters from half the shit that's happened to you."

And things finally clicked into place.

"Is that why I've been so…so…" She fought for words. "I've never _felt_ this strongly before."

"That's part of it. A big part. You need to heal from _those_ wounds before you work on that one." The girl said, gesturing to the door.

It…it made sense. Really, it did. But there…there was something else there.

Pyrrha stared at the void. The void stared back, hungering. It was familiar…the same thing she felt in the back of her mind all the time.

"The wounds aren't going to get better though." She said with a faint wonder. "They'll just…erode me."

The girl paled from shock. "How could you _possibly kno-_ "

"You lying _bitch_." Pyrrha snarled with a hatred that she had only ever felt once before. "Do you really you could hide that from me when it was staring me in the face?"

"You need to learn _control_ damnit!" The stranger said in desperation. "Yes, it won't get better with time on its own, but if you took even some time, you cou-"

"If you knew anything about me, anything at all, you would know that trying to hide something like that from me would be a bad idea." It was a wonder that Pyrrha was even able to respond coherently now. That dark wellspring of _hurt_ in her soul was screaming now. Winds whipped around them, and the darkness drew up around them in anticipation.

"You're not in your right mind. You _need_ to take a step back from this and _think._ " The silence that ensued was deafening.

Pyrrha took a deep breath and savored everything she was feeling. It was an almost masochistic impulse, but anything was better than the oblivion that awaited her if she stayed the course.

At least with hate, with anger and rage, there was life. This girl wanted her to wait for some nebulous future where she _might_ be able to control her decay. All while the emptiness scoured away at everything she was, everything she wanted to be.

For once, ever since she had awakened in this second life, every single little part of Pyrrha was in complete agreement about what she wanted to do.

"All my life…I've listened to what others want for me." Pyrrha began, the girl listening with growing dread.

"You can't d-"

"All my life." Pyrrha cut her off, daring her to interrupt again. "I excelled at what I set my mind to. And people praised me for it. I eventually hit the zenith of what I was told to do. I won, again and again, and no one could best me."

This abrupt reckoning with her past was ugly, but it was important, and she carried on despite the pain. "I had won so much that people stopped expecting more from me. And I stagnated. I stopped reaching for _more_. I was told to trust in my elders…and they failed me completely and utterly when I needed them most."

As she spoke, Pyrrha dredged up every last bit of strength she had. She threw everything into the gathering storm of power that began to come to life at her finger tips.

"I refuse to be that person again. I don't care if it kills me. I will live, how _I_ choose to." She finished.

Then she turned around to face the door, and with all the strength of mind and body, and her very soul, she reached out with her semblance.

Everything exploded into a cacophony of sound, and light warring with darkness. Pyrrha wasn't sure if it was coming from her, or the girl who was doubtlessly pleading with her to stop this.

If she was being honest, Pyrrha thought it was both.

She reached deep. Every fiber of her being was alight with agony as the door buckled, warped, and twisted. Her aura flared, brighter than it ever had before under the strain.

She pushed, and never stopped. Not when she fell to one knee, not when she fell altogether, not when blood began to seep from her nose, not when her heart felt like it was about to burst in her chest.

And yet still, the door did not break.

The floor began to crumble in the dream, the darkness threatening to overtake everything. She was dying, Pyrrha realized dimly. Even if she stopped now, the damage was far too great.

But with the very last bit of strength in her soul, that very last bit of defiance, she pushed beyond her limits.

Pyrrha broke the door upon her indomitable will.

Blinding, deafening light and heat and cold and darkness rushed through the breached barrier. A link that had been sealed, incomplete was now thrown open.

Pyrrha let her head fall to the cool ground, closing her eyes. She…she had done it. As the energy flowed through her, she knew the girl had been telling the truth. She very well might die now.

But Pyrrha was done letting fear rule her.

* * *

Jaune's eyes opened blearily. His eyes found the digital clock he had set up by his bed. 4:13 A.M.

Why the hell had he woken up this early?

Rubbing sleep from his eyes, he looked around, pausing as he heard a faint sound coming from Pyrrha's bed.

It sounded like…coughing?

"Maybe she caught something." Jaune muttered, sighing as he rolled over to look at his partner's bed.

He froze at what he saw, even in the dim light.

Was…was that _bloo-_

He scrambled out of bed and threw the light switch, ignoring the startled grumbling from his other two teammates.

Trails of crimson were leaking from Pyrrha's nose and mouth, pooling and crusting on the skin, on the bed, so much of it.

How long had she…if he hadn't woken up, she could be dead, she might _already_ b-

No, she…she could not die. Not after surviving that horrible initiation.

"Jaune? Wha'sagoi-" Nora began, before half-screaming at the horrific sight that greeted her.

Jaune was already too busy fumbling for his scroll, calling the emergency line for Beacon. As he frantically explained the situation, while Nora and Ren tried to administer emergency aid, and the other teams across the hall started to stir from the commotion, Pyrrha wheezed.

"Jaune?" A glob of red accompanied the statement, staining her chin. Jaune froze, while Pyrrha continued, seemingly oblivious.

"I…think I overdid…" A hacking, ugly cough cut her off and Jaune couldn't help but wince.

"It'b alright…" She continued, trailing off, her strength failing her. "T'gether…right?"

Her head rolled back, and she sank back into unconsciousness.

* * *

Long after Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc left Beacon behind them, stories would be told about the boy who carried his dying teammate across half the campus to the medical center in the middle of night at a dead sprint, clad only in his Pumpkin Pete pajamas.

* * *

Long after Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc left Beacon behind them, few would be privy to the fate of a girl entombed in a vault deep underneath the school.

All at once, at about 4:13 AM, the vitals on the occupant of a single stasis pod would shudder, fluctuate, and flatline before anyone could possibly go down to save her.

* * *

Author's Notes: Holy shit, bet you guys didn't expect this story to ever update again, huh?

Welp, as it stands, procrastination combined with real life bullshit and shifting story priorities is a bitch. But, at least you get this morsel of a chapter to tide you over. And, hopefully, the next chapter will not take nearly so long to complete.

For those of you who are interested, I shall leave a link to my discord server at the bottom. users, use the usual tricks to complete URLs and go to them.

: / / discord . gg / QWwq7Xj

Join the server to get updates and in general ask questions and interact with yours truly. I'm not always around all day, but it is nice to have people around to remind me to actually work on stuff like this. Anyway, reviews are appreciated, and I hope you enjoy.


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